True Colours
by IThinkILeftMyCoatOutside
Summary: Blaine is a pop star, constantly in the limelight with a string of girls to his name. Kurt is a writer, previously unknown but now shooting to fame as his books are slowly made into movies. Although both famous they are worlds apart, but after they meet will Kurt be able to help Blaine find his True Colours?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys :) So this is a new story that I got the idea for yesterday while I was at my Dad's. I've been wanting to do a story like this ever since I read Ersatz by Press528491 (you should _totally_ go read it, it's awesome!) but I couldn't think of anything. Now that's changed - this is only rated T because I don't think the boys will go as far in this story as they [eventually] will in Something's Coming, but also because this is more about how they help each other. **

**I hope you enjoy it! C xx**

* * *

The music was loud – too loud. Kurt couldn't think straight, and he wasn't even _inside_ yet. He was still in his car, getting ready to get out and walk down the little red carpet that always seemed to be outside these blasted events, with his manager, Scarlett, sat to his left. That's how he knew the music was too loud; it was already giving him a headache and he was still _outside_.

"Do I really have to be here?" He whined, slumping back against the seat and shutting his eyes tightly.

"Yes, Kurt, you do. Now get up; you're nearly up." Scarlett nudged him, pointing out the window when he opened his eyes. Kurt looked out at the huge crowd of people, flashes emanating from somewhere within them as another Hollywood actor or actress strolled down the red carpet looking immaculate.

"But no-one knows who I am!" Kurt complained, staring at her with pleading eyes as he silently begged her to just teleport him home and put another famous face in his seat instead. But Scarlett just stared back at him, shaking her head slowly and smirking ever so slightly. She knew how much Kurt hated these public events, especially since he had purposely kept his public profile low for so many years only to be thrust into the spotlight.

But what else was he expecting to happen? His last three novels had flown off of the shelves at break-neck speed, one of them had been made into a star-studded Hollywood movie and now the latest one was heading in the same direction. All Kurt had to do was show up to a few parties and events over the next few weeks and rub shoulders with the stars and directors who could very well be helping him boost his bank balance significantly.

"Yes they do, Kurt," Scarlett reassured him; she'd been told that the director who had transformed his last book into a hit move was attending, as well as a few of the minor cast, which meant that there would be _some_ people who would know Kurt. And anyway, these parties weren't about who knew you when you arrived, it was about who knew you when you left. "Now get your ass in gear, and don't fuck this up."

"You have such a way with words." Kurt rolled his eyes teasingly, smiling at his manager.

"I know," She replied curtly, her attention turning to her Blackberry as a small beep indicated a new e-mail. "Love you, Kurt."

"Love you, too, Scarlett." Kurt replied just as his door opened, and with all the grace and elegance he just _knew_ he had, he climbed out of the car and said a quick thank you to the security guard who had opened his door. He then proceeded down the red carpet, knowing that most of the paparazzi would have had to check their lists to remember who he was. But either way, whenever he stepped onto a red carpet, all of the camera flashes directed at him, Kurt felt _special_; _loved_. Stopping every few steps to pose for the cameras he was directed towards, Kurt slowly made his way up into the party, producing a small ticket from his pocket at the door before being allowed inside.

"What are you doing here?" A gruff voice called out behind him, making the man stutter his last sentence. Running a hand through his hair, Blaine smiled to the group of ladies he was speaking to and held up a hand to excuse himself before turning around. His heart beat quickened as he imagined a tall, muscular man with a scary moustache and evil eyes behind him, but couldn't help but laugh when he turned to see his friend Noah 'Puck' Puckerman stood behind him. Sure, he was tall – taller than Blaine, at least – and muscular, and his eyes did hold a small glint of menace in them, but he was Blaine's friend. Blaine let out a shaky sigh as Puck grinned and slapped him on the back, nearly knocking him flying; Puck just didn't know his own strength sometimes.

"Hey Puck!" Blaine beamed despite nearly being winded, punching Puck's shoulder playfully in return. "I could ask you the same question!"

"Grizzly 'Gomery made me come," Puck shrugged, grimacing slightly as he glanced at the scene around him. Grizzly 'Gomery was the nickname Puck had given to his manager, Wes Montgomery; he really was a nice guy, but Puck always complained about Wes working him too hard and the nickname was born. "I don't know why, though – I'm not even doing a film anytime soon!" Puck was one of the best action movie stars around, doing most – if not all – of his stunts and barely earning a bruise.

"Well, it's all publicity isn't it?" Blaine completely ignored the group of women surrounding him and headed to the bar with Puck, now in the mood for a decent conversation with one of his closest friends. "And-"

"Any publicity is good publicity!" Blaine and Puck cried in unison, quoting Blaine's own manager, Thad Harwood. They laughed together as Blaine ordered two beers, and once they had arrived the two men moved away from the bar to an area of plush seating. Hardly anyone sat down at these events, and it made Blaine wonder how those girls could wear such devastatingly high heels for so long without the burning desire to sit down and take the weight off.

Blaine suddenly felt a pair of arms drape around his neck, seeing the mirror image of what was happening to him as the same thing happened to Puck opposite him. On the back of Puck's chair was a slender brunette in a _very_ short white mini dress with _very high_ white stilettos, and she was perched over Puck, her hands sliding further down his chest as she leant down to whisper in his ear. Blaine's grip on his beer bottle tightened as he felt the breath of the girl perched on his own chair against his ear.

"Why don't we go somewhere more private?" She whispered huskily into his ear, but Blaine found himself more aggravated than aroused.

"I'm good, thanks." He retorted gruffly, keeping his eyes away from her as she huffed and walked away. Blaine watched as Puck grinned, obviously having been asked the same question, and rose out of his chair to follow the girl up to one of the many rooms in this huge fucking hotel. Blaine felt angry at his friend; not because he'd gone ahead and gone off with some girl he didn't know – that was _totally_ a Puck thing to do – but because he obviously hadn't thought about leaving Blaine alone. Not that Blaine exactly wanted Puck to be thinking about him while he was having sex with a girl, but because, despite his cool exterior, Blaine was petrified of these parties. It was full of people who knew his face and his name and came up to him to ask him questions he didn't know the answer to, and he had no idea who they were.

That was how he ended up strolling out onto the large patio that ran the whole length of the back of the hotel. Before him, a perfectly manicured lawn rolled out for what seemed like miles under a sweet sunset that cast a pale red glow over the gardens, and about 300 yards in front of Blaine a figure wandered around, lonely of any companionship. Always one for making new friends, even at these wretched parties, Blaine walked briskly across the grass to the figure. He realised as soon as he took his first step that the figure was a man; a man with perfectly coiffed hair and a somewhat impeccable fashion sense.

When Blaine finally reached him, the man was facing away from him and humming to himself; the sound was beautiful, musical, and even though Blaine couldn't quite place the music he immediately decided that he loved it.

"Excuse me?" Blaine reached out his hand and placed his hand on the man's shoulder. He felt the man jump beneath his touch and retracted his hand, getting his smile ready for when the man turned around.

Blaine wasn't expecting what he saw when the man turned around; a pale complexion that reminded Blaine of a porcelain doll his grandmother had but suited this man's elegant features perfectly, features that should have been too effeminate for a man but again, they suited this guy amazingly. And then there were the distracting, deep pools of glasz that were staring back at Blaine with curiosity and a slight hint of fear. Blaine had never been so breath-taken by a man before.

"Yes?"

Kurt's breathing hitched as he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder. "Excuse me?" A voice like warm honey spoke behind him, and immediately Kurt felt his stomach knot; it was beautiful. Kurt turned around to see a dark-haired man stood behind him smiling warmly, his hair gelled down but obviously naturally curly. Kurt wondered what this guy would look like with curly hair before realising that this guy was still staring at him. Staring at him with beautifully deep hazel eyes with hints of honey tones as warm as his voice, his pupils slightly dilated in the dwindling evening light.

"Yes?" He stuttered, his voice slightly deeper than usual due to his throat being dry. The man was still staring at him, lips still parted slightly from speaking, and Kurt began to worry that he had gone into some sort of shock. "Are you okay?" His gaze searched the other man's face, checking for signs of life or otherwise, when the man suddenly shook his head, snapping out of an obvious daydream.

"Sorry," He laughed softly, the sound catching Kurt's heart by surprise and causing it to skip a beat. "I'm Blaine," Blaine offered his hand out to Kurt, who shook it cautiously. "I actually came over to ask _you_ that question." He poked Kurt's chest with his finger, making Kurt's heart pick up on all the beats it had avoided previously. Blaine frowned at him worriedly, his eyebrows furrowing in concern for Kurt seemed to be a fainted man standing.

"I- I'm okay, thank you," Kurt blurted, burning bright red. "Why did you come to ask me?" Blaine seemed taken aback by his question, his eyebrows jumping towards his hair as he looked away from Kurt as if the answer would magically appear if he looked for it hard enough. "I mean," Kurt amended. "What made you _want_ to come over? Did I look lonely or something?"

"Actually, yeah, you kinda did." Blaine looked to his feet and Kurt ducked his head in embarrassment. "I'm sorry; I didn't quite catch your name?" Blaine's eyes twinkled and a small smile played on his lips.

"Kurt."

* * *

**Okay i didn't mention this up top but just to let you guys know that this whole story will be shorter than Something's Coming - SC is my pride and joy right now, and I'm going to make sure I write it to perfection! Not that I won't do that with this, but- oh you know what I mean! ;)**

**While you're still reading this (I hope you are) I'd just lie to do a little shout out for my friend RainySunnyEnding - she's going to be writing a Klaine fanfiction soon and it would be awesome if you guys could go and check it out! She also writes Titanic stuff too, but it's all awesome and I love her work! Thanks guys :) x**

**Reviews make my day :)**

**C xx**


	2. Chapter 2

"It's nice to meet you, Kurt." Blaine grinned, nodding his head briefly before taking a swig of his beer.

"It's nice to meet you, too," Kurt smiled back, starting to feel a little more comfortable around this mysterious stranger. "So… what is it you do, exactly?"

"Excuse me?" Blaine stuttered, regarding Kurt with a bemused expression.

Kurt fiddled with his hands in front of him, blushing as he looked to the floor. "Well, you must be _famous_ or you wouldn't be here right?"

"No, I got the question," Blaine was still staring at him. "I just can't believe you don't know who I am!" He laughed marginally, but Kurt could hear the annoyed edge to his voice and felt a little guilty. He wasn't good with faces, and as he scanned Blaine's face for anything that he might recognize about him he couldn't avoid the thick tension between them.

"I-I'm sorry," Kurt shook his head slightly, panic starting to rise in his throat. "I'm not good with faces and names and stuff."

"Blaine." The dark-haired man stated, gesturing to himself. "Blaine Anderson."

"Oh!" The name was familiar to Kurt – he'd been hearing it on the radio in his car over the past few weeks and Kurt cursed himself for not having listened to it properly. They had said that Blaine was big in the music – or was it movie? – business and his latest… something had been a hit. "Oh, I know!" Blaine's eyes lit up as he laughed at Kurt jumping slightly and clapping his hands excitedly. "Actor?" Kurt winced as he said it, Blaine's reaction telling him he was wrong.

"Singer," Blaine corrected, somewhat grumpily as his smile faded to be replaced by a frown. "Seriously, do you ever watch the television or pick up a magazine or something?" He arched an eyebrow at Kurt, taking another sip from his beer. "I'm all over that shit!" He spread his arms wide and laughed. Kurt watched him with a bewildered expression, wondering if he could just walk away or if that would be too rude for him to pull off. Blaine would probably end up chasing him anyway.

"I do, actually," Kurt stated, hands on hips. "Just not the sorts that people like _you_ think they deserve to grace the covers of." And before Kurt knew it he was stalking off back towards the hotel, pushing past Blaine in search of someone _decent_ and _sober_ to talk to.

* * *

"Hey, you okay?" Kurt looked up from resting his head in his hand, the other hand nursing a Cosmopolitan on the bar, to see a young black woman frowning at him, her eyes full of sympathy.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just had a bit of a long night is all," Kurt replied, smiling half-heartedly. The girl frowned again, looking him up and down before she began staring at him wide-eyed. Kurt shifted uncomfortably as she began grinning at him, looking around him for a possible escape route… or a man in a white coat with a comically large butterfly net.

"I'm sorry," She suddenly said. "I must look like a crazy person right now, but- You're Kurt Hummel, right?"

"Yeah…?" Kurt slowly sat up, becoming intrigued at how this woman knew his name.

"Ohmygod!" She squealed, clapping her hands together excitedly before covering her mouth with her hand as she giggled. "I'm sorry, it's just-" She blushed, a rosy tint visible through her dark skin as she looked to the floor. "I'm kind of a big fan of your books."

Kurt felt a small blush creep up his neck as he processed the information; he'd never been recognized in a public place that wasn't a book signing or a bookstore before, and he wasn't exactly sure how to react.

"Why thank you," he finally said, unable to stop the huge grin that spread across his face. "What's your name?" Kurt had gained a new confidence upon meeting this girl, and he thought it only right that he knew her name.

"Mercedes," She beamed. "Mercedes Jones." She held out her hand in a surge of confidence before blushing and going to retract it. However, Kurt stopped her by taking her hand in both of his and smiling up at her.

"It's wonderful to meet you, Mercedes." Kurt shook her hand gently and they fell into easy conversation, Mercedes telling Kurt how she had just been signed by a big music label. They started to discuss their tastes in music, Kurt shyly admitting that he was more into his Classical music or Vintage music ranging from the 20's to the 90's. Kurt ordered them both drinks, insisting that they both be put on _his_ tab that Scarlett would take care of tomorrow for him. Mercedes was tough to persuade at first, but after a while she reluctantly allowed Kurt to pay for anything she ordered.

Kurt ended up having a fantastic time; Mercedes introduced Kurt to her boyfriend, Sam (when he finally showed up), and a few of her friends, including singer/actress Rachel Berry, a name that Kurt _definitely_ recognized. They spent a good portion of the rest of the night together, sharing anecdotes from their time in 'the business' and just generally having a good time. The night ended all too soon, Kurt and Mercedes promising to keep in touch and Kurt bashfully asking for Rachel's autograph.

Just as Kurt was about to leave, a familiar voice behind him stopped him in his tracks.

"Excuse me?"

* * *

"I do, actually," Kurt stated, hands on hips. "Just not the sorts that people like _you_ think they deserve to grace the covers of." Blaine scoffed as he walked away. Did that Kurt guy really think he was _better_ than Blaine? Blaine was a singer; a sex god; an idol; he was loved. Kurt was just some guy at a party. He didn't look like a director that Blaine should have been trying to impress, and the name 'Kurt' didn't ring a bell, but Blaine didn't normally pay attention to names anyway.

Blaine stood for a while, sipping his beer with his other hand in his jeans pocket as he squinted into the sunset. The scene was idyllic, and Blaine found himself watching the sun slowly sink when he should have been partying. That's what these things were all about; come, show your face to promote yourself, get drunk and go home, preferably with a pretty young thing on your arm.

But all Blaine kept thinking about was Kurt. He felt the overwhelming need to apologise to him, but his stubbornness got the better of him and he went inside to get himself another drink. At the bar Blaine tried to gather his thoughts together; why was this Kurt bugging him so much? What was it about him that Blaine just couldn't bear? Blaine's thoughts were disturbed by raucous laughter further down the bar, and peering along the line Blaine could just see a glimpse of familiarly coiffed chestnut-brown hair. He felt a stab in his chest, but it wasn't anger or resentment; it was something new. Something that Blaine had never experienced before, and the beautiful pain of it made him want to experience it again and again.

Fed up and on his third beer, Blaine finally left his seat at the bar around twenty minutes later and headed out onto the dance floor. He wove in between the gyrating women and men until he found Puck, now with another three girls dancing around – basically _on_ – him.

"Anderson!" Puck grinned when he saw Blaine, gesturing for him to come over. Puck put his hand on the back of one of the girls and whispered something into her ear, pointing towards Blaine and winking at him. The girl perked up, smiling at Blaine with wide eyes as Puck introduced the two to each other. "Blaine, this is Sasha." Puck gently pushed the brunette towards Blaine and she pretended to trip – it was obvious – so that their bodies ended up flush against the other.

"Uh, hi," Blaine helped her upright again, not really in the mood for being set up by Puck- the only thing this girl would want would be stardom, her name across the magazines, and by being at this party it meant that she obviously thought sleeping with someone famous would do the trick.

"Hi," She giggled, fiddling with a few strands of her hair as she bit her lip, her eyes wide and hopeful that Blaine would get her name in the tabloids.

"Blaine?" Blaine let out a relieved sigh, not even caring when the girl's face in front him dropped significantly as he turned away. Blaine turned to see his manager, Thad, and immediately wondered what the _hell_ he was doing here. "Blaine, stop dancing and come here, for fuck's sake."

"I thought you didn't like these parties?" Blaine let himself be dragged away from Puck and Sasha, off the dance floor and towards a quiet corner.

"I don't," Thad growled, looking around him with a slight look of disgust on his features. "But I just got an offer for you and it couldn't wait until tomorrow."

"Oh, okay," Blaine frowned slightly; even when he got amazing offers his manager never usually contacted him outside of his office hours. "What is it then?" Even though he hadn't exactly been enjoying himself, Blaine was now itching to get back to the party around him.

"Well, y'know that movie that came out last year? The one written by that Hummel kid?" Blaine nodded. "Well, there's discussions of the sequel being made into a film, too-"

"So what, am I doing the soundtrack for it?"

"They haven't exactly asked yet," Thad cocked an eyebrow. Blaine frowned. "But trust me, they will."

"So what is this _amazing_ offer then?"

"You've been offered a cameo." Thad showed a slight smile, the extent of him showing any expression. Blaine opened his mouth to react but couldn't find any words to express himself; his music career was what he was known for, but for a while Blaine had wanted to maybe venture into acting, and a cameo role would just be the beginning.

"And why couldn't this wait?" Blaine didn't want to sound unappreciative of the offer, but even despite how amazing it was he couldn't see the urgency in it that his manager could.

"The writer, Kurt Hummel's here. Tonight. I've got Tina out looking for him, so once she returns you're going to talk to him." As if on cue, a small Asian girl came scurrying through the crowds, her eyes wide and insistent. "Ah, Tina," Thad greeted her, his expression barely changing. "Did you find him?"

"Yeah," She breathed. "But you better be quick; I think he's about to leave." She turned behind her and pointed out a group of people, apparently all friends and saying their good-byes. Out of the group stepped the chestnut-haired man Blaine had spoken to outside, the one he'd seen at the bar; the one he'd pissed off.

Before he knew it, Thad had pushed Blaine in the direction of Kurt and hissed in his ear to 'not fuck this one up'. Blaine slid between conversations and wove his way through the slowly diminishing crowd until he found himself a few steps behind the other man. Hesitantly he reached out a hand before retracting it, deciding that maybe physical contact would be a little too far.

"Excuse me?"

* * *

**Okay, so I'm replacing this because I was recently informed that my previous description of Mercedes was highly offensive, and I really can't be bothered to look up my old A/N and rewrite it so I'm writing this now. **

**I am incredibly sorry if I have offended anyone.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, chapter threeeee! :D I'm so glad I only update this once a week - writing this gives me a nice breather from Something's Coming. Not that I don't like writing SC, but this is just a nice break for me :)**

* * *

Kurt turned slowly, feeling butterflies explode in his tummy as he imagined the face that matched that voice and remembered their previous encounter. Out on the lawn of the hotel, Kurt had come face to face with the singer and promptly embarrassed himself by not knowing who he was, before being insulted in return and leaving, but not without attempting a sassy remark to save his dignity, even though in his humiliation he knew have could have done better.

And now here he was, just about to leave and on cloud nine after one of the best nights he'd had at a public event, and this arrogant, cocky songster was just about to drag him back down a cloud or two.

Kurt turned to see the one and only Blaine Anderson stood behind him, looking like a completely different person to the one Kurt had met earlier; where before he had appeared egotistic, big-headed and also rather rude, he now seemed shy, reserved and almost apologetic.

"Yes?" Kurt enquired in a sceptical tone, a perfectly sculpted eyebrow raised as he took in the appearance of the man in front of him; his opinion of this guy was already set, but there was no harm in checking out his fashion sense. Kurt was depressingly overjoyed to see the man squirm where he stood, obviously not used to being disliked in such a manner, especially by a stranger.

"I-I wanted to… apologise, for earlier," He stuttered, pointing over his shoulder towards the doors that led to outside and earlier in the evening. He went quiet, waiting for Kurt to respond, but when he realised that Kurt still wasn't impressed he hurriedly continued. "I didn't mean to be such an asshole, it's just people at these things normally know who I am and so it was quiet… refreshing to meet someone who didn't. Oh _shit_, I'm just making things worse aren't I? I just don't know when to shut my mouth sometimes and for the first time in a long time I'm actually really embarrassed now so even though my manager will kill me for doing so I'm just gonna walk away and let you leave-"

"It's Blaine, right?" The man stopped in his tracks just as he turned away and looked back to see Kurt smirking, a hint of amusement in his voice with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Right," Blaine breathed nervously, now fully aware that this man held in his hand the future of his acting career and how dangerously close he'd been to ruining the opportunity himself. He waited patiently, shifting nervously as Kurt appeared to look him up and down again, taking in every aspect of his appearance before presenting his hand for Blaine to shake.

"Kurt Hummel," He announced, and suddenly Blaine understood what it was like to be totally awe-struck by someone you don't know. Despite his seemingly unconfident attitude earlier, Blaine was surprised to now see this man so full of charisma and confidence that he almost forgot how to speak. Whilst he, Blaine, had been having a somewhat mediocre night, Kurt seemed to have had quite the opposite and thoroughly enjoyed himself.

"I know," Blaine smiled, shaking hands with Kurt before letting his arm drop back down to his side, his other hand comfortably in his pocket. "I actually came over to talk to you about your new film." Kurt's eyebrows raced up to his hairline before settling back down again, a small frown clouding over his features.

"It's a bit late for that, isn't it?" Kurt glanced around them, noting a few other guests departing and leaving the room even less inhabited.

"Yeah, I guess," Blaine rubbed the back of his neck, as he always did when he was anxious about something, and turned to see Thad and Tina watching them. Thad pointed to his own eyes and then flipped his hand round to point at Blaine mouthing 'I'm watching you' as he did so, therefore dashing Blaine's earlier plans of just running away from this ugly confrontation. "It's just, my manager really wanted me to talk to you about it, and given how it's the end of the night I'm thinking there's no reason for me to beat around the bush with this, huh?"

Kurt glanced over to Thad, who nodded his head once and turned away to talk to the Asian girl who stood next to him, her fingers busily typing out whatever he was saying into her phone. Kurt looked back to Blaine, who had been following his gaze but was now looking back at him expectantly.

"Look," Blaine sighed before Kurt could say anything. "I _really_ am sorry for earlier, and if I'm honest considering how shit that went I probably wouldn't be talking to you right now if my manager hadn't pushed me to. And I mean that in every sense of the word; he actually _pushed_ me towards you."

Blaine felt his confidence climb a little when Kurt laughed, enough for him to join in. Even if his laugh was a little half-hearted, the musical sound that escaped the other man's lips was almost contagious, as if the sound alone was enough to cheer Blaine up no end. Weirdly for Blaine, it did just that.

"Look, Blaine," Kurt began, amusement still glinting in his eyes. "I accept your long-winded apology. Hell I would have accepted it if you'd ended at just 'I'm sorry'!" Blaine chuckled nervously, looking at the floor as a hint of red appeared across his cheeks. "But I really do have to go. My manager will eat me alive in the morning if I'm not bright-eyed and bushy-tailed by half seven and it's…" Kurt glanced down at the watch on his right wrist. "It's like, nearly one already!" Blaine chuckled slightly – Thad didn't care when he got home or when he got up, as long as he was conscious when Thad wanted him. Blaine shuffled his feet awkwardly; he knew that Kurt wanted – or _had_ – to leave right now but he was keeping him back, and even though Kurt had accepted his apology Blaine still felt pretty lousy about earlier. "Here," Kurt pulled a small card out of his pocket. "I don't normally get to hand these out so I'm going to kind of make a bit of a deal of this." He whispered, leaning in closer so that Blaine could hear him before standing up straight again and offering Blaine the card. "Here's my card," Kurt beamed. "My manager, Scarlett's number is that one, my publisher is _that_ one and the one at the bottom is my company – just in case I'm actually at the office for once." Kurt pointed out the three numbers in turn and rolled his eyes playfully at his last comment before handing the card over completely and taking a step back. "Call me," He winked jokingly before letting out a small laugh and walking away, waving over his shoulder. "Bye, Blaine Anderson."

* * *

Blaine was still staring after Kurt when a pair of hands came down on his shoulders, making him jump. "Getting guys' numbers now, are we?"

"No," Blaine shrugged them off and span round to look Puck in the face. "He's actually a writer," He retorted, confusing himself when he felt strangely proud of that fact. "I might be getting a cameo in his next film and he gave me his card before he left to make sure I could get in touch, _should_ I be interested in the offer."

"What do you mean, '_should_' you be interested?" Thad's stern voice came from behind him, and Blaine felt trapped in between his friend and his manager. "You told me you wanted to start your acting career, Blaine. You are _not_ turning this down."

Blaine span around to look at his manager. "I _do_ want this; I was just defending myself-"

"From what?" Thad cut in. "From Puckerman? Please, Blaine, it was just friendly banter, wasn't it Noah?" Thad looked over Blaine's shoulder to Puck, smirking as Blaine's shoulders dropped dejectedly.

"Of course it was, Thad." Puck smirked in return, clapping Blaine on the back with a small chuckle.

"Good," Thad nodded once; he'd always liked Noah, mainly because he pissed off Wesley Montgomery so much. "Now, come on Blaine; I want you up and out early tomorrow." Thad nodded to Noah again before he pulled Blaine away by the shoulder, leading him outside and to the car, completely blanking the paparazzi still camped outside.

* * *

"Evening," Scarlett grinned as Kurt climbed into the car. "Have fun?"

"Yeah, it was actually kinda great," Kurt sighed, resting his head back against the seat as the car pulled away. "Thanks for making me go." He turned his head to the side to look at his manager, smiling softly as his eyes began to flutter closed.

"You're welcome, hon," She watched on as Kurt began to fall asleep against the seat, a slight maternal instinct taking over and prompting her to ask the driver to be careful on sharp corners so as not to wake him up. Scarlett loved Kurt; it was hard not to and she had done from Day One. Being nearly ten years his senior, Scarlett had instantly taken Kurt under her wing and demanded to her bosses that she take care of his career; a fact that she had never revealed to Kurt.

She smiled when she heard his breathing even out, slight snores coming from his direction as she turned back to her phone. As soon as her eyes made contact with the device it lit up with a new message.

_From: Thad Harwood_

_Message: Got BA to speak to your boy tonight. Is he on for the meeting tomorrow? _

Scarlett glanced over at Kurt again, but couldn't bring herself to wake him up to ask him.

_To: Thad Harwood_

_Message: 'My boy' is still unaware of the meeting tomorrow, but I'm sure he'll be 'on' for it._

Scarlett thoroughly hated the way Thad spoke, but at least over texts he couldn't shamefully flirt with her and repeatedly stroke her arm or stand too close to her as he always did when they were both in the same room. Her phone lit up again.

_From: Thad Harwood_

_Message: He better be. How does he not know?_

Scarlett rolled her eyes; she _really_ didn't like Thad Harwood.

_To: Thad Harwood_

_Message: He's asleep. We'll see you and 'your boy' tomorrow for the audition. Don't be late or it'll be cut._

Scarlett pushed her phone into her bag, ignoring it when it lit up again. She decided that Kurt had the best idea: sleep was _definitely_ a good option.

* * *

**What do you think? :) **

**C xx**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey readers! Yay Chapter 4! **

* * *

Kurt held his head up with his hand as he leant on the countertop in his kitchen. He jerked awake every few seconds, his eyes constantly drifting shut and threatening to pull him back into unconsciousness. It wasn't until the thick aroma of a freshly made Mocha found its way to his nostrils that he was fully awake.

"Thank you," He mouthed to Scarlett as she picked up her own coffee, smiling down warmly at him as he urgently took a sip before nearly burning his tongue. However, the small drop he did manage to drink rejuvenated him, and he was soon edging back towards his normal, vivacious self. "So," He began as he set his mug back down. "What's on the agenda for today?"

"Well," Scarlett glanced up at the clock on the wall behind Kurt before looking back at him. "In an hour and a half we're leaving for a meeting, and I'm guessing that will take about… half an hour?" She questioned nobody in particular, working out in her head how long Thad Harwood would demand better for before he finally gave in to the best he was going to get. "And then at half twelve you're meeting your dad and Carole for lunch-"

"Oh, good! I haven't seen them in a while." Kurt mumbled into his coffee, the pounding his head ebbing away with every sip. Scarlett nodded and smiled, knowing how important Kurt's family was to him.

"And, I'm going to let you have some leash here; you don't have to be back until three this afternoon,"

"_Let_ me have some leash?" Kurt laughed. "Scarlett, you know whenever Dad's in town I'll stay out whether you 'let' me or not." He grinned at her, slightly proud of the small chuckle he extracted from her.

"Kurt…" She chided gently, eyeing him over the brim of her coffee mug.

"I'll be back by three, I promise." Kurt smiled sweetly at his manager, enjoying how casual their relationship had become over the years, them treating each other more as friends than as colleagues.

"Good," Scarlett replied bluntly, allowing a full smile to grace her features. "Don't forget Michael's going with you, so you have no excuse to be late." Kurt groaned and screwed his eyes shut; he didn't _hate_ Michael, but there was a thorough dislike between the two men.

"_Why_ does it have to be _Michael_?" He whined, putting his coffee down and burying his head in his hands. "Why can't it be _James_, or-" His head snapped up and he stared at his manager as realisation washed over him. "Hold on, you never made me take a bodyguard with me when I've been for lunch with Dad before… Why now?"

Scarlett stepped forward and put her near-empty mug down next to Kurt's, suddenly serious despite the gentle smile still on her lips. "Because you're much more high profile now, Kurt," She told him gently. "People are starting to recognize you, especially since the film last year." Kurt looked up at her, his glasz eyes wide and unbelieving. "We can't afford to take the risk of letting you out on your own."

"You talk about me like I'm a wild animal," Kurt scoffed, a smile creeping back onto his face. "I understand, though." He pulled his manager in for a hug, breathing in the familiar scent of her lavender perfume that reminded him of his mother, remembering how whilst he was working she was the closest thing he had to family. "But can I _please_ have someone _other_ than Michael?" He pleaded as he pulled away; keeping his voice low just in case the bodyguard was nearby.

"Fine," Scarlett relented, knowing that – even though Michael was probably the best bodyguard they had on their security team – Kurt _really_ didn't like him. "I'll tell him that we don't need to bring more attention to you, and seeing as he's the one who always attends events with you there's a higher chance that people could recognize you if he's there," Kurt bit his lip and frowned, worried that he was being to finicky as to ask Scarlett to dismiss one of her staff just for a small falling out that had happened years ago. "Don't worry," Scarlett comforted him, seeing his concern. "I'm sure he'll understand. I'll go and find James while you get ready, okay?"

Kurt nodded in agreement and drained the last few dregs of his coffee before leaving the room to get changed. He stopped halfway to the stairs and turned back, leaning into the kitchen rather than stepping back into it. "Scarlett?"

"Mm?" She didn't look up from her phone but turned her face towards him slightly, indicating that she had his attention.

"What's the meeting for this morning?" Now Scarlett looked up at him, remembering that she still hadn't told Kurt.

"Oh, we're meeting to discuss a cameo in the new film," She explained, but Kurt frowned. "His name is Blaine Anderson; I believe you met him last night." Kurt stiffened.

"Yeah, I did," Kurt had kind of hoped that he wouldn't have to see that man again, even attempting to flirt with him on order to scare him off. But now he had to meet him again, and there was a chance he could be in his new film? This just wasn't fair. "Hold on – I don't remember writing in a cameo… for _anyone_."

"You didn't," Scarlett replied simply, risking a glance up at Kurt before turning back to the device in her hand. "But you know when the two main characters go to that concert?" Kurt nodded – of course he knew, he _wrote_ the damn book. "Well, the director thought it would be fun if we had a cameo there instead; someone the audience can relate to. Plus it'll boost our publicity almost fourfold to have a current Top Ten artist involved."

"Oh," Kurt blinked, realising that she was right; having that Anderson guy involved would do wonders for this film. "So, when were you going to tell me about this?"

"This morning," Scarlett looked up at him, a smug smile on her face. "Because that way you can't back out, _or_ reject the idea completely."

Kurt couldn't help the grin that crawled onto his face; Scarlett knew him so well, and she was right. If he had known that the director wanted a cameo rather than just a fictional musician, he would have claimed that he was 'tainting his story with the fame of some singer whose videos included nearly naked women and lyrics that didn't make sense'. But now that he knew he couldn't back out of it, Kurt felt himself slowly warming up to the idea.

_Very_ slowly.

* * *

"_Fuck_…" Blaine hissed and rolled over as Thad yanked the curtains in hit hotel room open, allowing the sunlight to stream in and burn into his eyes without warning. Burying his face in his pillow Blaine desperately tried to grab hold of sleep again, but Thad was having other ideas.

"Get up!" He called, offering no sympathy for the pounding in Blaine's skull. "Come on, UP!" When his client didn't move, Thad reached up and pulled the duvet completely off the bed and threw it to the floor. Blaine was left lying face-down in the middle of the bed in nothing but his boxers and groaned at the cold air that rushed to embrace him. He wanted to move, to crawl back under his duvet or run for a hot, welcoming shower, but his limbs were weighed down by the deadweight that was a hangover.

"Get up, Blaine," Thad ordered one more time, although his voice was a lot calmer than it had been before. "We're leaving in an hour." He turned to walk out of the room, but only took three steps before pausing.

"Wha' for?" Blaine slurred, rolling over and rubbing his eyes sleepily with one hand whilst clutching onto his pillow with the other.

"The meeting for your cameo, dumbass." Thad moved over and ripped the pillow out from Blaine's grasp, causing the younger man to whimper. "Now get in that shower and then march your ass downstairs for some form of breakfast," He turned and threw the pillow down on top of the crumpled duvet, heading for the door. "I don't want your stomach rumbling halfway through and showing me up." The door slammed behind him, sounding like a gunshot that had been fired right next to Blaine's ear.

Blaine let his shoulder drop and rolled over onto his front again, but one pillow was nowhere near as comfortable as two and he couldn't be bothered to move to the other side of the bed where two pillows still lay. He thought over the offer again in his head, his stomach flipping at the thought of this being a very small step in the direction of the acting career he'd always wanted. He dragged himself off of the mattress and stumbled to the bathroom, making sure the shower was steaming hot before discarding his boxers and stepping in.

And then his mind flashed to an image of the man he would have to impress; Kurt Hummel. His heart hiccupped in his chest in anticipation for seeing him again, but he couldn't figure out why; it was the same feeling he'd had the night before, the one he used to get when he met a new girl at the beginning of his career before they all started coming after him for his money. But that was impossible; Blaine Anderson couldn't be in love with a guy.

Could he?

* * *

Nearly two hours later, Kurt was sat in a board room with Scarlett to his left and two empty chairs opposite him.

"They're late." He stated, looking up at the clock and then down to his watch. "I don't like it when people are late." He began to swivel his chair from side to side before lifting his feet off the floor and allowing himself to be carried all the way round. He smiled childishly to himself whilst Scarlett just rolled her eyes and mumbled something along the lines of 'silly boy' under her breath.

"They'll be here soon," She informed him, not looking up from the forms laid out in front of her on the desk. "Harwood told me Anderson is very keen for this, so I doubt he'll miss it." Kurt thought about it for a second before heaving a huge sigh and spinning himself round again. Just as he was beginning to slow there was a knock at the door. Stilling himself by smacking his hands down on the table and ignoring the light-headedness he earnt from doing so, Kurt stared at Scarlett and then at the door.

"Come in," She called, and the door slowly opened.

* * *

**^.^**

**See you all next week!**

**C xx**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's chapter 5 :) Hope you guys enjoy it! C xx**

* * *

Blaine hadn't felt this nervous before a meeting since the beginning of his career when he'd met with the record producer about his first single. But this time, even though on the other side of the door it was still the future of his career waiting for him, it was because the man willing to give it to him confused Blaine to his very core. Blaine followed Thad into the board room with his heart in his mouth, remembering at the last second to plaster his signature, confident smile on his face as the door opened to reveal Kurt and a woman who appeared to be his manager already sat at the table.

"Thank you – for _finally_ joining us." Kurt snapped, narrowing his eyes at the newcomers as he drummed his fingernails on the table. Blaine was a little taken aback by Kurt's abrupt, sassy tone and glanced warily to Thad, who looked just as concerned before the beginnings of a smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Kurt…" The woman next to him warned as she turned her attention to a file on the desk in front of her. She pulled out a few sheets of paper as Kurt's face coloured slightly and he settled back in his chair, his eyes turned down towards the table. Thad snorted slightly, sitting down opposite the woman and watching her with a steady gaze. She looked up at him and rolled her eyes as Blaine sat down opposite Kurt, still a little cautious of the chestnut-haired writer. "Don't mind Kurt, Blaine," The woman smiled at him as she pushed a few papers across the table to Thad, who openly attempted to brush their hands together as he picked up the sheaf of paper, causing the woman to roll her eyes. "He can be a little grouchy in the mornings."

"Shut up, Scarlett," Kurt muttered, turning a deeper shade of red. Blaine gazed at him across the table, his attention being ensnared by the pale-skinned man's features, one after the other; how his eyes seemed to change from blue to green to grey as they looked around the room, the way the small, crimson blush still on his cheeks contrasted vividly with his porcelain-like complexion. From the perfectly coiffed hair down to the smooth, structured jaw, Blaine had never been so entranced by a man's appearance before.

"So," Scarlett began a few minutes later, the sudden break in the silence making Blaine realise that he had been daydreaming heavily whilst still staring at Kurt, who luckily hadn't seemed to notice while he had been staring intently at his phone, occasionally tapping out what must have been a reply. Blaine looked over to Scarlett, his whole face burning with embarrassment when he noticed that she was smiling softly at him, a seemingly knowing twinkle in her eye. "What do you think?" She turned to Thad, her expression changing back to closed-off and professional.

"Well, I _was_ hoping for a little more screen-time," Thad started, lowering the sheets back onto the desk and leaning forward slightly. "This contract says there's only six minutes – I was hoping for _at least_ ten."

Scarlett raised an immaculate eyebrow and Kurt raised his head from his phone to look at Thad, both of them with questioning looks on the faces. "Oh, really?" Scarlett sounded surprised, but the smirk on her face suggested that she had known this would happen. "And what do you suggest we do in those ten minutes? The six we have includes a song and just under three minutes of dialogue," She glanced over some sheets before looking back up. "What else do you want?"

"I was hoping for a little more dialogue, maybe?" Thad countered, clasping his hands together. "Or maybe a longer song? You've suggested we use one of Blaine's shortest singles to date!"

"It's very popular," Scarlett returned, keeping her voice impressively calm and level, the gentle smile on her face protected from further scrutiny. "And seeing as this would be Mr Anderson's first film appearance, it is recommended – by both me and the director – that we use an easily recognisable song during his presence on-screen."

Thad and Scarlett continued to debate as Kurt and Blaine watched on, both looking equally perplexed. They risked a glance at each other, Kurt offering a genuine smile that made Blaine involuntarily blush and look to the floor. He looked back up to see Kurt still grinning at him, an amused glint in his glasz eyes at the sight of Blaine's uncharacteristic bashfulness. Blaine didn't know why, but he felt almost… nervous around Kurt, like he should be trying to impress him. Whether it was due to the fact that Kurt's successful writing career had led to Blaine being offered his lifelong dream of becoming an actor, or the fact that Blaine found him curiously attractive, he didn't know if he would ever be sure.

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, the two stars and their respective superiors were parting ways from the board room with polite handshakes and formal goodbyes, a decision finally reached to increase Blaine's screen-time to 'nine and a half minutes – no longer'. Butterflies exploded in Blaine's chest as he shook Kurt's hand, accompanied by yet another warm smile from the novelist, and he immediately began to panic that his hands were sweaty as he pulled his hand away.

He and Kurt had sat in silence for the most part of the meeting, allowing their managers to do the talking for them with offers, counter-offers and demands. Blaine had often risked a glance or two in Kurt's direction, occasionally being met by a warm smile but normally when he looked up Kurt was engrossed by whatever was on his phone. Each look confused Blaine even more, the dark-haired vocalist unsure of why he felt so compelled to gaze at the man opposite him. Eventually Blaine settled with turning to his own phone, quickly becoming absorbed in a game of Angry Birds as all other worries fleeted his mind.

Now sat in the comfort of his car, Blaine slouched against the seat and dragged his hands down his face, groaning slightly in frustration. Thad got in after him, clutching a copy of the amended contract for Blaine to read through and sign later, shooting Blaine a slightly confused glance as he sat down. "What's wrong with you?" He asked, absently waving for the driver to go. "We just scored a _major_ deal, Blaine! Don't tell me you want to back out now?"

"Of course I don't," Blaine mumbled into his hands where they were still rested on his face. He pulled his hands away and allowed them to drop into his lap. "It's just…" Blaine considered telling his manager about the confliction he felt inside him, but whilst he was still so uncertain it was probably best not to mention anything – just in case he was wrong.

"Yes?" Thad prompted next to him, allowing his concern to show for the singer next to him.

"It's nothing," Blaine finally sighed, turning his head to look out the window as the world raced passed him. "I think I'm just tired after last night."

"Yeah right," Thad scoffed, and Blaine whirled his head around to glare at him. "You looked incredibly awake in that room," Thad smirked, his dark eyes twinkling mischievously as Blaine scowled at him, trying to disguise his blush as irritation. "Nothing to do with the company, was it?" Blaine's eyes widened in shock; how was Thad being so casual about this? And had he really been that obvious? Thad grinned and turned away, nodding to himself in satisfaction; he'd obviously guessed correctly.

"I can't say I blame you," He continued, casually flicking through the file in his hands but not actually reading any of the words. Blaine's eyes widened and suddenly he wasn't so sure that he and Thad were on the same page. "She is a very attractive woman, fucking _gorgeous_ in fact, but don't even think about it – a relationship between you two would be _highly unprofessional_."

"Wait, what?" Blaine sat up properly, frowning at his manager as he continued to idly pretend to read. Thad looked up at him, feigning innocence.

"Scarlett," He stated as if it was obvious. "Hummel's manager. You were barely responsive during that whole meeting, Blaine. Do you think I don't know you well enough by now to know when you're interested in someone?" He arched an eyebrow. "But I saw her first." He looked serious for a moment before he winked, grinning again. "Here, read this." He tossed the file into Blaine's lap, turning to his phone instead for entertainment.

Blaine sighed back into his chair, shakily opening the folder and staring down at the words that greeted him. It took him six attempts to read the first line, his concentration suffering significantly due to the combination of adrenaline, relief and dread currently flooding his system. Okay, so Thad _hadn't_ twigged that it was _Kurt_ Blaine found to be 'fucking gorgeous', and that meant that Blaine's life stayed outwardly simple, but inside he still had these feelings to deal with and attempt to comprehend.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he sighed in relief at the welcome distraction. His eyes lit up when he saw the sender, so much so that he began bouncing in his seat, attracting Thad's attention.

"Which girlfriend is it now?" He teased, observing Blaine's excitement with a sideways glance. Blaine beamed at him and excitedly turned his phone around, showing the text to his manager. He watched Thad's face as he read it, his face lighting up immediately when he noticed the sender.

* * *

"You can't tell me you didn't notice!" Scarlett rolled her eyes playfully as she and Kurt made their way to their car, Kurt climbing in first in a bid to ignore the brunette.

"Drop it, Scarlett," He growled, turning to glower at her. "I'm warning you."

"Oh, come on, Kurt, I'm just teasing!" It was at times like this when Kurt really started to question just _how_ he had managed to stand Scarlett for all these years. She nudged his arm lightly and giggled, watching with glee as Kurt's harsh glare started to soften. "He _was_ staring at you a lot, though."

"Can you blame him?" And just like that, Kurt's sarcastic sassiness was back as he ran a hand through his hair and partially feigned arrogantly looking in a mirror. Scarlett laughed next to him, shaking her head at Kurt's behaviour. "But seriously, Scarlett," Kurt turned serious again, looking a little melancholy. "I'm pretty sure he's straight."

"Only 'pretty sure'?" She was still smirking, for once her phone not the subject of her attentions.

"You _know_ he is, Scarlett," Kurt sighed, his patience beginning to wear incredibly thin at his manager's insistence. "You've seen the number of girls he's had on his arm. If anything, he's a womanizer." Kurt turned his nose up slightly, glancing out of the window to hide his disappointment.

"I thought you didn't know anything about him?" Scarlett grinned when Kurt turned back to glare at her, both of them knowing that Kurt had been caught harbouring far more interest for the Anderson singer than he let on.

"I… may have… looked him up this morning." He blushed, turning to stare back out of the window rather than facing the smug grin on Scarlett's face.

* * *

**How was that? **

**I'm going to give a few of my friends a mention here because I love their writing and I'd love for you guys to go give them a read! First of all, my friend RainySunnyEnding is writing a Glee fanfic (Klaine, obviously) called Tears & Cookies which is amazing. I'm currently updating for her because she's away in Spain, but she's only away for one more week. I-might-BE-slightly-INSANE is another friend of mine, and although she's only published a Harry Potter fanfic called What If? I believe she's writing a Glee fanfic too. And finally, my friend GirlInTheBlueHoodie is pretty new to writing fanfictions, and she recently uploaded her first oneshot, Waiting For A Train. Go check them out and tell them I sent you! :D**

**C xx**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, so I have absolutely _no_ idea of what the timings or anything are in this story at the moment, so I have no idea if things match up or not. I hope they do, but if not then let me know and I'll fix them :)**

**Urgh, I'm so ill right now. Well, it's only a cold really, but it's _summer_ and I _detest _getting ill in the summer. I've had headaches for the past few days as well as a really bad throat and I'm all sniffly :( In better news, though, my friend RainySunnyEnding got back from Spain yesterday! Yaayyy! I'm going to go and see her tomorrow, I think :) If anyone reads her story Tears & Cookies (you totally should by the way, it's awesome) I love you! If you don't, I still love you, but you should go have a little read. Please? Thanks :D **

**HUGE hugs to all you guys 'cos I love y'all so much! ^^**

* * *

After arriving back home after the meeting, Kurt had only an hour and a half until he was supposed to be being picked up at twelve o'clock for his lunch with his parents. He had raced upstairs, and was already raiding his walk-in closet by the time Scarlett climbed out the car. He hadn't seen his parents for nearly a month, what with them still living in Ohio whilst he was 'living the high life' in LA, and he was determined to look his best for them whilst they were in town. His father, Burt Hummel, probably wouldn't care much for what he was wearing while Kurt's stepmom Carole would most likely gush over it and tell Kurt how amazing he looked no matter what he wore, but Kurt still wanted to be seen as making an effort.

_Buzz buzz_.

Kurt felt the vibration of his phone against his thigh before he realised what it was, pulling it out as soon as he did so just as Scarlett made her way into his room, hastily stepping over the pile of discarded clothes Kurt had flung over his shoulder. She began to pick them up, noticing how each garment contained one designer label or another, and laid each item down neatly on his bed rather than the messy pile it had been in before.

Scarlett nearly dropped a particularly expensive Ralph Lauren dress shirt when Kurt squealed.

"Ohmygod! Finn's coming, too! Oh, wow, I haven't seen him for nearly five months!" He was bouncing around his room as he typed out a reply, before jumping gleefully onto his bed… and landing on the neat pile of clothes Scarlett had made.

"Kurt!" She cried, swatting at his shoulder to get him to move. Seeing the pile of clothes beneath him seemed to snap him out of the one-man celebration he was having over seeing his stepbrother again, making him promptly jump up and run back to his wardrobe. Scarlett sat on the edge of Kurt's bed, one slender leg tucked underneath her body as she watched Kurt rifle through every item of clothing he owned. "So," She started when she could see Kurt still bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet. "Finn's coming?"

Finn Hudson was Carole's son, making him Kurt's stepbrother. The two had started out with a slightly awkward friendship, with Kurt crushing on the frankenteen and therefore driving their parents together in a bid to get to spend more time with him. A rather ugly argument between the two in Kurt's father's basement nearly split the two families apart, but once Finn started to realise the trouble Kurt was having with the school jocks and stood up for him, he landed himself back in Burt Hummel's good books. Ever since the two boys had been just like brothers, all memories of Kurt's previous infatuation with the football player had been forgotten about over new memories of Kurt helping Finn out with his high school girlfriend, Quinn, and Finn _trying_ to offer Kurt advice over his first boyfriend, Lionel.

Now Finn had shaken himself free of the immaturity of high school football players, and after a scholarship to one of the most prestigious sports academies in the country and playing for a couple of teams around the States, Finn had landed himself as quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles. The last time Kurt had seen him he had gone over to Philadelphia to visit his stepbrother for a few days before both of them headed back to Ohio for Carole's birthday. The whole time Kurt had been with Finn, they had been hounded by groups of teenage boys, begging Finn for his autograph or a picture or for him to visit their school next week. It had surprised Kurt how well his brother had adapted to his sport-induced fame; now he would smile and wave and pose with the fans, but Kurt distinctly remembered several late-night phone calls from his stepbrother begging him to save him from the 'screaming banshees' outside his hotel.

"Yes!" Kurt span around to beam at her, his glasz eyes alight with joy and excitement. "I'm so excited! Do you think I should wear the cufflinks he bought me? Or the tie bar or something? Oh! I can _definitely_ do the iPhone cover at _least_. Finn will appreciate that, right?" He moved over to a small unit with four drawers in it, going straight for the top one. The drawer was split into two by a divider Kurt had bought, one half holding all of the small fashion-related gifts his parents had bought him, the other containing all of the things Finn had bought him as he'd gone from team to team. Out of all of the merchandise that had the team's logo on it, Finn had found the most tasteful and given it to Kurt. This side of the draw was now mainly filled with things baring the Philadelphia Eagles crest, including the aforementioned cufflinks, tie bar and iPhone cover, as well as gloves, belts, belt buckles, wallets, watches, socks and even a ring (Kurt had only ever worn that once, and didn't plan on wearing it again anytime soon).

"Maybe the cufflinks, too, but you can definitely do the phone cover." Scarlett instructed from the bed, looking through the various shirts Kurt had thrown all over the floor and deeming them all perfectly worthy for him to wear. "How about wearing this shirt?" She held up a pale blue shirt with white cuffs and a matching white collar. "This would be fine with the cufflinks, and you could keep _those_ pants on rather than changing," She gestured to the smart black pants he had been wearing all morning/ "They won't notice, and they are _perfectly fine_." She added when Kurt looked absolutely disgusted at her suggestion. "And those shoes – okay, yes you can change your socks but those shoes are _fine_ – and then over the top you can wear that tan trench coat you love so much. What?" Scarlett felt her cheeks grow warm at the incredulous look Kurt was giving her, and felt herself instinctively become very defensive.

Kurt started to laugh, shaking his head slightly as he came over and took the shirt from her hands. "Nothing," He chuckled. "I just- I'm not used to someone else telling me what to wear." He grinned down at her as he stood next to her where she sat on the bed. "It's weird. But I must say I kinda liked it; _much_ less stress for me." He walked back into his closet, grabbing a fresh pair of socks and the cufflinks, before passing his phone and the cover to Scarlett as he made his way to the bathroom.

As Scarlett swapped the sleek black cover Kurt usually had on his iPhone to the green, black and silver Eagles one, Kurt neatly placed his folded outfit on the chair he had in his bathroom before stepping under the warm spray of the shower.

* * *

"She'll be here soon, Blaine," Thad looked up over the top of his magazine at the pacing singer in front of him. "_Stop pacing,_ for crying out loud." He turned back to his magazine before he could see the glare Blaine sent in his direction, shaking his head and muttering something inaudible under his breath.

Blaine glanced around the airport; he'd never liked them very much – they were _way_ too crowded – but today he had a very good reason to be here. The text he'd gotten earlier had been simple – _Coming to LA for 1 week, pick me up airport 12?_ – but it had meant the world to him. How could he stop pacing right now? The plane was due to land any minute, and Blaine _couldn't_ miss it coming in.

_10 minutes_, he thought to himself as he glanced up at the clock, _come on, just ten more minutes_. Fed up, he dropped himself down into the seat next to Thad, one of his black-clad bodyguards on his other side. Blaine stared at the floor for a few seconds before he began drumming his hands against his knees, humming along with a tune he didn't know but seemed to fit perfectly. Before too long his foot was tapping along as well, gradually picking up tempo as the tune became more elaborate.

"Stop," Thad ordered, slamming his hand down on top of Blaine's, causing the younger man to jump in his seat. "_Please_, I'm _begging_ you to stop." He kept his hand clamped down on Blaine's for a few more seconds until he was sure the curly-haired male wouldn't start up again, and then gradually pulled his hand away and turned back to his magazine. Blaine stared at him for a few more seconds before looking up to his right at the balding tank of muscle that was Archie. He kept staring straight ahead, ignoring Blaine's fidgeting, and so did not notice the small, playful grin that was beginning to grow on Blaine's lips.

Blaine waited a few seconds before he started lightly patting his thighs again, gradually building up speed and getting louder. Out of the corner of his eye Blaine could see Thad twitching next him, the grip on the glossy papers in his hands getting closer to clenching, threatening to nearly rip through the material. Blaine pretended not to notice and carried on, holding back his giggling as he continued to purposefully annoy his manager.

"BLAINE! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, STOP IT!"

Blaine instantly stopped, doubling over his knees and clutching his stomach as he finally let his laughter go. Thad was still angrily lecturing him from where he now stood in front of the singer, but Blaine wasn't listening anymore, too caught up in his own unparalleled amusement.

"Excuse me?"

Both men froze; Blaine wiping the tears from his eyes and Thad still fuming where he stood. A beautiful blonde girl – no older than 17 or 18 – was stood timidly looking between the two of them, throwing the odd glance to Archie as he tensed up in his seat, watching her with hawk-like eyes. She was clutching a notepad to her chest and gripping a pen in her hand, and once the scene died down she was staring at Blaine with wide, adoring eyes.

"Are you Blaine Anderson?" She asked, taking a small shuffle of a step forward towards him where he still sat.

"Yeah," He sniffed, still chuckling softly from his fit of laughter. "Yeah, I am."

"Could I- Could I have your autograph?" She held the notepad and pen towards him, smiling up at him hopefully through thick eyelashes.

"Sure!" Blaine closed the gap between them by taking a small, playful jump towards her, taking the pen and notepad as he did so. "What's your name?"

"Uh, J-Josie," She smiled, her cheeks flaming red as she stuttered over her own name, a sever side-effect of being under the influence of Blaine Anderson's signature sexy smile. Blaine quickly wrote out a short message to the girl and signed it, handing the paper back and waving as the girl walked away. After a few steps she must have felt as if she were out of his view as she bolted into a run towards a group of other teenage girls, all of which were giggling or gaping at her in shock. She showed off her autograph, beaming proudly at her courage that the other girls seemed to have been vacant of. When they all looked over, Blaine waved at them and grinned, even throwing a wink into the mix just for the fun of the hysteria he'd caused amongst them. He frowned slightly when he realised that Thad had been relatively silent on the whole signing business; usually he would be stood right next to the songster, going over his messages before handing them back over to the adoring fan who'd asked for it.

"Still driving the girls wild, I see?" Blaine span on his heels at the sound of a female voice behind him, and suddenly realised why Thad had been so quiet. He was grinning from ear to ear, and Blaine instantly knew that the slender, olive-skinned brunette in front of him had most likely told him to keep quiet. She wasn't much taller than Blaine, but in the heels she was wearing she stood a good four or five inches above him. Her brown hair was slightly lighter than his and cascaded over her shoulders in gentle curls, but their deep hazel eyes were near identical. Blaine allowed himself to take in what she was wearing; a simple green blouse over powder beige trousers with a pair of brown wedged sandals, a black handbag hanging in the crook of her elbow whilst she held a blue-and-white polka dot suitcase behind her.

"Mia!" Blaine breathed, throwing himself at the woman before him and hugging her tightly. She returned his embrace with as much eagerness and love as Blaine had done, giggling into his shoulder when he refused to let go.

"Come on, B, you have to show me round!" She laughed, trying to push him away unsuccessfully. "It's been _months _since I was in LA!"

"I know!" Blaine exclaimed, finally pulling away. "Where were you? All I got from you at Christmas was a letter and a phone call-"

"_And_ several Ralph Lauren dress shirts, some Tommy Hilfiger cologne and a Rolex."

"That's- You know what I mean, Mia!" Blaine cried, flailing slightly as he took the girl by the shoulders. "You weren't there!"

"I know," She sighed, a warm smile lighting up her eyes. "And I'm sorry. But I couldn't make it home in time to see you over Christmas, which is why I _sent_ the gifts and that letter- You did read it, right?"

"Of course I did," Blaine shot back. _About a month later, but what's the difference?_ "So what brings you out here?" He asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Oh, well, Richard's busy and so I was left in that big house by myself and I thought 'Hey, I haven't seen my little brother in a while', so I booked a flight and decided I'd come pay you a visit whether you wanted me or not." She grinned down at her younger sibling, a few small flecks of green dancing around her pupils in her hazel eyes.

"Of course I want you here," Blaine breathed, embracing her again and hugging her tightly. "I always want you here."

* * *

**Hellooooo again :) So what did you think? Mia is an OC of mine, and I decided to add her in because I've always wanted Blaine to have a sister, and so in fanfictions I can write him one :) There'll be a little more info about Mia in some coming chapters, and I really hope you like her. She's not much, but she's awesome in my opinion. **

**Also, if you want to know what any of the Philadelphia Eagles stuff looks like, here's the link : store . philadelphiaeagles Philadelphia-Eagles-Mens-Accessories-_537022166_PG . html Just remove the spaces :) i hope it works... if not i'm sure you guys can find it. By the way - I'm English so I have absolutely no idea here - are the Philadelphia Eagles a good team? From what I looked up I think they are, but I wasn't sure and I didn't want to use a team like the Pittsburgh Steelers because I _know_ they're awesome. Not saying that Finn isn't, but I didn't want him to be like super duper stupid famous, if you get what I mean.**

**Anyway, let me know what you think :D**

**C xx**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys :) This chapter is un-beta'd so i apologise if it's really shit. Like, I'm _seriously_ sorry. As always, I hate the ending because I felt like I cut it off too early, but my laptop was playing up when I was writing this and so I didn't really have time to add more considering I wanted to get this up this side of midnight. And I have half an hour left. So, enjoy, and again - I'm sorry.**

**C xx**

* * *

Lima, Ohio, had never been one of Kurt's favourite places in the world. In fact, for a good few years of his life it has been terrifying; there was high school, where homophobic Neanderthals were allowed to freely roam the halls and make Kurt's day-to-day life a living hell; then there were the homophobic assholes outside of school, such as the group of guys that Finn and Puck had gotten in trouble for beating the crap out of when they thought they'd gotten away with a snide comment about Kurt and his then boyfriend, Justin.

And that was why, when the opportunity reared its head just after Kurt finished college, Kurt had jumped at the chance to get out, alive. His first choice had obviously been New York, the bright lights of Broadway and the rich, high-society culture was something that had always enthralled him, but the six months he had spent there had been spent sharing an apartment with an excitable, pink-haired girl, Dinah, who Kurt was 99% sure was made of rubber by the way she bounded everywhere she went. Although Kurt had found Dinah's zest for life endearing at first, it soon got in the way of his writing and he had packed up and moved out, straight into the arms of Michael, a dashing young actor who Kurt had seen performing in an off-Broadway theatre not three weeks before on a night out alone away from Dinah and her rambunctious collection of friends.

It hadn't taken them very long to fall into bed together, both of them falling into what they had thought was love not long after. Kurt had felt he was living the dream; living in New York, halfway through his first novel whilst playing through his first novel whilst playing house with a gorgeous, blond-haired actor-boyfriend who supported his career choice. But when Kurt was starting to spend more time getting his book written, Michael had gotten... strange. Kurt would say he had been jealous, but the idea of his boyfriend being jealous of his work after being so supportive of him just sounded so ludicrous that he just dismissed it as their relationship fizzling out after only three months. That's what he'd told his father, anyway.

And so, Kurt decided on a fresh start; an incredibly fresh start. He could have gone back to Ohio, but Kurt was still shaken from his high school years and so his home state was ruled out, even though it meant moving away from his dad and Carole. Kurt decided that he needed his own space in a new location, and after much thought he'd turned his scrutinising eye across the country to LA. It was sun, sea, sex and space, all of which Kurt was looking forward to, and so he packed up and out of Michael's apartment and moved into a small flat with no roommate. It was daring: starting afresh somewhere new as an aspiring author with a low-paying job in a bookstore, and no roommate to have his back if he couldn't make the rent. Luckily Kurt had never been in that position, because he'd made sure he looked after the little money he earned to make sure that he never had to face that problem.

And when his book was finished, it took Kurt two months of meticulous editing and re-reading before summing up the courage to send it off. He sent it to a few agencies first, making sure that they thought it was worthy of being immortalised in print before he sent it off to the big guns, the publishers. That was how he'd met Scarlett; new to the team, she had been given Kurt's novel to read over rather given Kurt's novel to read over rather than one of their more esteemed clients, and she had instantly fallen in love with it. At work the following week she had expressed this to her bosses and had asked if she could take on his novel as her first project. They accepted her request - albeit with a little hesitation - and Scarlett and Kurt had been friends as soon as they'd met.

Scarlett had managed to boost Kurt's novel up the charts and into the eyes of several Hollywood directors, and just ten weeks after its release the book was a best-seller, and Kurt was starting to earn some serious cash. Everything had taken off from there, and although Kurt loved having his work appreciated, it was all just a little… daunting.

Which is why he was so damn excited to see his family again.

* * *

Mia Conway-Anderson had always loved LA; she grew up here, she went to school here and she had started her career here. LA was her home, it was where the majority of her childhood friends still lived, but most importantly, it was where her younger brother lived.

Mia and Blaine Anderson had been inseparable as children. The four years between them had gone pretty much unnoticed until Mia had gone to high school, and an eight year old Blaine had had to learn to fend for himself against the scary older kids – the ones who Mia had been able to scare off for him. For a few months they were just as close at home as they had always been, but eventually Mia's new workload and new friends started to eat up her free time and both siblings could feel their bond beginning to fray slightly. When Blaine went to high school it got even worse, because Blaine earnt himself his own new friends and his workload became just as bad. It wasn't until Blaine had graduated University that they'd been able to rekindle their close relationship again, but even so it still took them time. Mia was engaged to be married, but it was Blaine's being spotted by a producer's daughter – and therefore being introduced to and signed by said producer – during one of his performances in student bars that had made opportunities for them to spend together even slimmer.

Blaine had shot to fame shortly after Mia's wedding. It would have been sooner had Blaine not asked the record company to wait until after Mia's wedding to release his first single, but he'd wanted to be there for his sister and her husband, Richard, rather than sending his love and best wishes from across the globe.

Mia herself had had a taste of her brother's fame when he'd asked her to sing with him on his album, earning her a few singles on her own. But she chose to take a step back after her fourth single when she fell pregnant, deciding that she would rather raise her children at home than be jet-setting across the world and left the stardom to her younger brother. That was six years ago, and she was now a thirty four year old mother-of-three living in Washington, but that didn't stop her from being recognized.

Blaine grasped her hand as he led her towards the airport exit, Thad and Archie in tow, both Andersons holding back giggles as Archie carried Mia's blue-and-white polka dot suitcase out of the airport. By the time they reached the exit Blaine was bouncing along nest to Mia, telling her about all of the people he had met and the places he had been, turning back into the excitable puppy of a younger brother he'd always been, even though he was coming up to thirty. Mia recalled how he was even worse – if that was possible – around her children, his niece and nephews, because he thought that he could use their young ages as an excuse. The eldest of her three, Louise, was coming up to five, Jonah was three and five months, and baby Harvey had just turned two.

"How are the kids?" Blaine turned to his sister as they settled into his car, Thad sat opposite them with his phone in hand, as if being able to hear her thoughts.

"They're fine," Mia smiled proudly, her eyes alight as she spoke about her children. "They miss you, of course." Blaine grinned; he loved all three of them and he missed them constantly, but with being on different sides of the country visits were becoming few and far between. "Louise started Kindergarten last year," There was a slight hint of sadness in her voice as she began to recall all of the things their uncle had missed. "She told everyone about you on her first day. She was walking around the place saying, 'My Uncle Blaine is a famous singer and he lives in LA' _all_ day!" Both of them laughed with tears in their eyes; Blaine's at how much he missed his niece and her antics and Mia's at the memory of when Louise's teachers had informed her of her daughter's boasting, with Thad's quiet chuckling opposite them going unnoticed. "Jonah's started nursery, too, but he doesn't boast like Louise does! He just plays with the other children. But that means it's just me and little Harvey at home now. I swear my children are growing up too fast!" Mia threw her hands up, laughing to herself.

"Richard's there too, right?" Was Blaine's reaction, his expression serious as he gripped his sister's hand. Mia seemed startled by his question at first, but whether it was because she couldn't believe what he was implying or that she didn't want to answer his question he wasn't sure. She didn't give him time to find out.

"Of course he is," Mia replied sharply, her reaction taking both Blaine and Thad by surprise. Thad watched her carefully over his phone, the light from the device illuminating his raised eyebrows, whilst Blaine flinched back slightly where he sat sideways on the seat, facing her. "I just meant because it only seems like yesterday we were bringing Louise home from the hospital and now she's in _Kindergarten_; it just seems too grown up for my little baby!" She shook her head slightly before looking up at her brother, a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes on her face. "I'm sorry, I just get a little emotional sometimes. Bringing up three young children under five means I get hardly any sleep nowadays, and so I can get a bit emotional from time to time." She hesitated a few seconds before adding "Or 'touchy', as Richard says," with a hint of malice to her voice.

Blaine frowned at his sister as she stared down at the floor of the car; she always seemed so bubbly and cheerful whenever he saw her, but Blaine could tell that something was wrong, and it wasn't her supposed lack of sleep. He couldn't explain what he thought or why, but he just _knew_ that there was _something_ Mia wasn't telling him. And he was going to find out what it was before she went home.

* * *

"Kurt!"

Kurt stopped midstride on the pavement when he heard his name called out, the figure in black walking a few meters behind him stopping at the same time and turning away in an attempt to appear casual. Kurt hadn't heard that voice in person for three weeks and four days; he'd only been hearing the crackled version that came with talking on the phone. He looked up to see a slightly-older-than-middle-aged couple walking towards him hand-in-hand, and felt his eyes immediately begin to sting with tears.

"Dad!" Leaving the figure behind him, Kurt ran the short distance to where his father and step-mum were walking towards him. "Sorry," He laughed nervously when he nearly knocked Burt Hummel to the pavement with the force that he ran at him with, feeling his father's strong arms clamp around his shoulders a second later. Neither of them said much after that for a while, just embracing each other on the LA street with everyone still milling about around them as they proceeded with their business. Carole stood to the side, watching with a tearful smirk as both men tried to wipe away their tears before pulling apart. "Hi Dad," Kurt whispered when he finally came face-to-face with his father, laughing breathlessly at seeing his dad in just as bad a state as he was.

"Hey, kiddo," Burt smiled, trying to inconspicuously wipe away his last few tears. "How've you been?"

"Pretty fantastic, actually," Kurt beamed, remembering his step-mum's presence. "But how about we save the story-telling for when we're sat down? Hi Carole," He enveloped the shorter woman into a tight embrace, feeling himself choking back another set of tears as he did so. When they separated, all three of them were red-eyed from crying and it made for quite an amusing sight for each of them. "Where's Finn?" Kurt looked up and down the street, expecting to see a looming figure approaching, his broad shoulders cutting a clear path through the crowds as he walked, but the football player was nowhere in sight.

"He's going to be a little late," Carole explained with a sombre smile. It wasn't just Kurt who hadn't seen the lofty athlete for a while; where Kurt had managed to get back to Ohio for a few days last month, Finn hadn't been home for nearly four months due to training and games and such. Kurt didn't understand the way football worked, with all of the seasons and different leagues, and so he just accepted now that if Finn wasn't around it would be because of something football related.

"He won't be long," Burt added, seeing his son's slightly dismayed expression. "Maybe about half an hour or something." He shrugged his shoulders once and nodded, a gesture Kurt knew was his Dad's way of asking if he was okay with it. Kurt smiled and nodded at his father, watching his shoulder's relax in relief.

"And anyway, that gives us half an hour for you to tell us about all the _fine_ men you've met since we last saw you!" Carole exclaimed, linking her arm with Kurt's and leading him towards the restaurant where they were having lunch as her husband rolled his eyes and fell into step next to her.

Forty minutes later, Kurt was happily discussing this season's fashion trends and giving advice to Carole on how to wear them when two vice-like hands gripped his shoulders. He froze in his chair, sure that was about to either cry or scream out from shock and fear, but instantly relaxed when he saw the huge grin on his step-mum's face. He looked up over his shoulders, sure that Finn had grown even more since the last time he had seen him, to confirm that it was in fact his step-brother before standing and pulling him into a tight hug. Finn was head and shoulders above Kurt, but that didn't stop either of them from being exceptionally close as brothers. Burt and Carole looked on with glazed eyes, admiring how well their sons got on and how much like actual brothers they behaved. Of course, if you asked either Kurt or Finn they would say that they considered the other as their actual brother.

"Hey Kurt," Finn grinned down at his step-brother as they stepped apart. "You look good. A bit thin, but good."

"I'll have you know I'm a perfectly healthy weight, Finn," Kurt raised an eyebrow as he sat back down, Finn moving over to greet his mother. "I'm just not as… stocky as those apes you call your teammates."

"Kurt…" Burt chided his son and gave him a quick glare as he rose from his chair to greet his step-son.

"No, it's okay, Burt," Finn chuckled as they hugged. "I've missed his sass these past few months!" Finn turned back to Kurt, who had now turned a nice shade of fuchsia, and reached out to ruffle his hair as he sat down himself.

"I wouldn't if you intend on keeping that hand," Kurt glared at him, his eyes flicking from Finn's approaching hand to his face warily. Finn stopped dead and a small glint of actual fear passed across his eyes before he laughed and retracted his hand.

"So, Finn, how's the football going?" Burt sounded almost desperate to talk about football after forty minutes of listening to his son and his wife discuss clothes and designers, and so Kurt and Carole decided to finish their conversation whilst the two men talked.

The whole lunch passed relatively quickly, Finn being the only one hungry enough to clear each plate of every single morsel of food visible to the naked eye as the others talked off their appetites. It had been too long for all of them to be able to sit in silence for more than a minute, their minds constantly filling with questions for another person sat at the table.

During the whole meal, a lone figure clad in black had been sat at the bar, absently drinking a bottle of water as he watched the group of four laughing and joking together in the middle of the restaurant. If it weren't for the dark shades he wore, one would be able to see how his bright blue eyes were automatically drawn to the porcelain-skinned author sat at the table. As the foursome stood to leave, each contributing to the bill despite the older man's insistence that he pay the whole sum, the figure rose from his seat, paying the bartender and leaving with a curt nod. He made his way outside and walked a few paces away from the restaurant. When Kurt exited with his family and began to head in the opposite direction, he hung back a few seconds before slowly starting after them.

"Finn, what are you doing?" Carole scowled at her son as he looked over his shoulder for what seemed like the hundredth time since they had left the restaurant, resulting in him bumping into an innocent passer-by.

"There's some dude following us," Finn hissed, glancing over his shoulder again. "He looks really shifty." All three of them felt their blood run cold, and Kurt could see Burt's jaw tighten and his fists clench in his jacket pockets.

"Don't be silly, Finn," Kurt attempted to sound calm, but his voice was audibly higher than usual. "You're just being paranoid." He waved the football player off, feeling his heart rate quicken in his chest.

"No, I'm not," Finn persisted. "He was in the restaurant when we were, he left when we did and he's been following us ever since. Every time I look at him I catch him looking at us and he looks away. Sometimes he pretends to browse in a shop window, but he's definitely following us."

"He's right, kid," Burt's gruff voice made him jump, and he realised that he and Carole had been put in between the two men as they took on their protective roles. "There's some jerk all in black following us." He slipped his arm around Carole's shoulder, the gesture having no effect on her terrified expression.

Kurt risked a glance over his shoulder and saw the figure they were all talking about, but rather than looking away as Finn had described he merely nodded curtly. Kurt almost burst out laughing when he realised, clamping his hand over his mouth. Finn and Burt both mistook it for shock, and Finn placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Kurt let out a muffled laugh, but Finn must have thought it was a sob as he protectively brought his body closer to Kurt's smaller figure.

"It's okay, Kurt," Finn reassured him through slightly gritted teeth. "We won't let the bastard near you or Mum, okay?"

"You idiots!" Kurt laughed, stopping and shrugging Finn's hand off his shoulder. He stared at the shocked expressions of his family, looking over his shoulder to see the figure stop abruptly, eyeing them carefully. Kurt looked between his family and the black-clad man before signalling for him to come over. Finn hissed at him to stop, that Kurt didn't know what he was doing, but the chestnut-haired writer just rolled his eyes. "Dad, Finn, Carole," Kurt turned to the man who was now next to him. "This is James; he's the bodyguard Scarlett _insisted_ I bring along with me. He's pretty harmless… well, he is in these circumstances anyway; he's not going to hurt us."


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys :) Just wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who has followed, alerted, reviewed and read this story. **

**And now I have a little announcement :)**

**Some of you will probably know that my other story, Something's Coming, is my baby, and True Colours was an idea I got that I couldn't let go of, and so I did something I thought I would never do and started to write stories at the same time. I am loving it, don't gte me wrong, but I've fallen into a vicious routine of writing the majority of my chapters on the night I'm actually uploading. Which has been causing me a lot of stress. Not to mention that my laptop has also been being really slow lately which means it took me ages to upload SC and I got all panicky. **

**Anyhoo, to the point. My point is that I'm going to have a mini hiatus for a week, just so that I can sit and write a few chapters ahead for each story and maybe even get a few drabbles out. And to get my stress levels down again! I didn't mention this on Thursday (well, it ended up being very early Friday morning for me) merely because I hadn't made the decision yet. I'm going to put a little note on my profile, and so I'm hoping that the people who read SC who don't read this will look on there. If not I may still be answering private messages but I'm not going to be uploading any story.**

**My friend RainySunnyEnding has told me that she's going to miss my writing for a week, but she is my beta so she might end up getting a few things from me. But I hope that you all understand that I'm doing this so that I can get back on track with my writing - which I have felt has been lacking lately - and ensure that I make both of my stories as enjoyable as possible for you all. And if you want something to read, go and read RainySunnyEnding's work! Tears & Cookies is just amazing, and I love being beta for it, so please please _please_ go and read that! If you're a fan of CrissColfer fics, make sure you read Rainy's It Just Sort Of Happened - I swear to Buddha I actually squealed when I read it!**

**But yes, I shall end my note now, because I'm pretty sure it's getting as long as this chapter.**

**I love you all beyond words.**

**C xx**

* * *

Burt Hummel narrowed his eyes at the dark-haired, black-clad man stood next to his son, who removed his dark sunglasses to reveal a pair of shimmering bright blue eyes. James offered him a half-smile, still hesitant about being so close to the man he was meant to be protecting and therefore bringing more attention to him.

"Mr Hummel, sir." He nodded in greeting, one hand holding his sunglasses, the other still buried in the pocket of his jacket. Kurt was expecting the usual 'Call me Burt' line from his father, as were Finn and Carole, and so was incredibly surprised when Burt Hummel took a different route.

"You look after my son?" He asked in a gruff voice as he gestured vaguely towards James and then towards Kurt.

"Yes sir."

Burt studied him for a second, looking him up and down and taking in his broad chest and shoulders. _This kid looks like he can handle himself_. "Good." He nodded once, Kurt, Carole and Finn watching the exchange with bewildered confusion. "Well, we'd better let you get back to your job," He announced after a few seconds, gesturing for Kurt to re-join them from his place beside James. "We're probably attracting more attention by talking to you, huh?"

"Possibly so, sir." James put his shades back on, offering slightly more of a smile than before as he turned around and took a few steps, waiting for them to continue on their way so that he could keep up his protective distance. Kurt stood looking a little dazed for a few moments, his gaze fixed on the back of his bodyguard, before he took up his place back in between Carole and Finn.

The family walked on in silence for a few metres until Finn broke the silence, causing a free-for-all discussion to break out amongst the four of them with Kurt caught in the middle. "So… you have a bodyguard?"

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Yes Finn."

"Dude, that's _so_ cool!"

"Finn, calm down. We don't want to bring more attention to Kurt; he could get spotted by some crazy fan or something and get attacked-"

"Carole that's not going to happen."

"Oh, dude, would James like, swoop in and kick their asses?"

"Finn! That's not going to happen-"

"As long as he keeps you safe, kid."

"Of course he does, Dad."

"-and then what if Kurt ended up in hospital? Then what would we do?"

"Carole, please, calm down."

"Yeah, Mom, calm down."

"Be quiet, Finn. You started this."

"I did not!"

"Boys, don't argue."

"But Dad-"

"But Burt-"

"No 'but's; no arguing."

All four of them fell silent then, negotiating their way through the crowds, each of them aware of the fact that James was following behind them. It was clear to see to anyone passing how uncomfortable the four of them had become; their shoulders were tensed, their expressions set and their pace almost robotic as they walked along together in a line, the only sign of affection being Burt Hummel's arm around his wife's shoulders.

"Let's talk about something else, shall we?" Burt asked in an attempt to diffuse the tension, but the break in the silence only made everyone more conscious of it when it returned.

Kurt desperately tried to think of something he could bring up to spur on the conversation, but he had already discussed his own career at length with his family, and he had heard all there was to hear about Carole's work in the hospital where she was a midwife and about Burt's work at the garage he owned, not to mention how Burt and Finn had already exhausted the topic of Finn's football career.

"Does he have a gun?"

"FINN!"

* * *

Blaine let himself drop into one of the three plush white sofas in the grand living room of his house. He rested his head back and lifted his feet onto the coffee table in front of him, sighing heavily as he nearly melted into the thick, soft cushions and rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. Thad came in a few seconds later and sat himself down with much more grace opposite the singer, his phone still in his hand as he rested the other across the back of the sofa.

"Am I going to have to have that thing surgically removed from you?" Blaine muttered, eyeing Thad's phone as his manager was intently reading whatever was on the screen.

"You wouldn't dare – this is my lifeline." Thad replied seriously, not looking up from the device. "Where's Mia gone to?"

"She's putting her stuff away upstairs," Blaine said nonchalantly, gesturing towards the large dark-wooden staircase that was visible from where they were sat. At the mention of his sister Blaine couldn't help but remember her behaviour from earlier in the car, the thought of which made him frown deeply.

"Hey, what's with the frowning?" Blaine looked up to see him manager staring at him incredulously. "We need to keep that pretty face of yours wrinkle-free, Anderson. Whatever you were thinking about, forget it."

Blaine rolled his eyes playfully but his frown didn't disappear. He shuffled forward, putting his feet back on the floor and leaning his elbows on his knees. "Did you notice anything… strange, about Mia earlier?" Blaine asked, knowing that if something was wrong – and he hadn't been imagining it – Thad would have noticed something, too.

Thad's brow furrowed in concentration, but Blaine couldn't tell if his manager was thinking about an answer to his question or was trying to make sense of whatever he was reading. He looked up to Blaine, still frowning. "Now you mention it, she did seem a little off." Blaine wasn't sure if that answer was good or bad. "I mean, I don't _really_ know her, but considering she's your sister and _you_ noticed it too, that's got to mean something's up, right?"

"I was afraid you'd say that." Blaine mumbled, rubbing his face with his hands before running them through his hair.

"Afraid he'd say what?" Both men went rigid and snapped their heads round to see Mia stood in the doorway, still in the same outfit as she had arrived in, with her hands delicately perched on her hips. Blaine and Thad glanced at each other, hoping that the other would find an excuse first.

"That… Blaine might have a rather busy schedule next week." Thad improvised, sending on last darting glare at Blaine that screamed 'Just go with me on this one' before turning to smile sweetly at Mia.

"Yeah…" Blaine turned to his sister, keeping his eyes away from her gaze knowing that she could read him like a book. "Very busy… next week."

Mia narrowed her eyes as she looked between her younger brother and his overly-flirty manager, noticing how uncomfortable they looked. She couldn't deny that she suspected them of lying, that they had actually been talking about something that she wasn't supposed to hear, but she decided to let it slide. She just wanted to spend a little time with her younger brother, considering how long it had been since she had seen him last. Anything to get her mind off of what had happened, what had led her to fly out to LA at such short notice.

"But you're going to be free this week, right?" She stared at Blaine, noting the shocked expression on his face when she hadn't called them out on their lying, with wide eyes. She hoped that he couldn't see how desperate she was for him to tell her that yes, he was going to be free all of that week, but she knew that she was just like her brother; her hazel eyes were like an open book. "I didn't fly all the way out here to be on my own – I could have done that back home." She decided to add, just to add a little older sister authority and possibly make Blaine feel a little guilty about having a possibly-full schedule.

"No, I'm free all this week!" He exclaimed, standing to walk towards her. "And even if I didn't, I'd cancel it all to be with you. I don't get to see you all that often, Mia."

"And whose fault is that?" She asked, quirking an eyebrow, a small playful smirk on her lips.

"Yours," Blaine replied simply, a small smile on his own mouth. "For moving to Washington."

Mia's smile dropped for a second before she brushed her curls away from her face and shrugging in an attempt to be nonchalant as she moved over to the sofa where Blaine had just been sitting. "Whatever," She grinned, showing her brother that she wasn't offended or upset by his statement, patting the seat next to her as an indication for Blaine to join her. "So, what do you want to do this week?" She asked as he moved over to her.

"Well, we could always go shopping?" Blaine grinned, knowing that he and his sister were a lethal combination when shopping together; they _always_ came home with half of the stores they visited. "Or… go to the beach? Anything, I don't mind." He flopped down next to Mia, smiling when the rush of air that pushed her hair back made her giggle. She shuffled closer to him, leaning into his side and cuddling him. It was times like these when they could go back to their old ways of being incredibly close siblings, able to completely relax around each other. "Are you alright?" Blaine lowered his voice, stroking Mia's hair soothingly. He felt her tense next to him, an act in itself that made his heart quicken with nerves.

"Of course I am," She replied, but she'd left too long a pause before answering it to make her completely believable. Blaine was about to open his mouth to ask her if she was sure before Thad interrupted them.

"I'll leave you two alone," He said as he stood, nodding once to Blaine who thanked him with his gaze alone.

"Blaine, I'm fine," Mia insisted, but she hugged him a little tighter.

"Mia…"

"I'm _fine_." She sat back and glared at him, obviously begging for him to just drop it, but Blaine could see the hurt and confusion swimming around in the hazel of her irises.

"Are you, though?" He shot back at her, trying to make her see that bottling up was not the way to deal with things. She had taught him that. When Mia had moved onto high school without him, Blaine had hidden his distress at having to deal with the older kids by himself until she had found him crying in his room one night. She had gotten him to open up, scolding him affectionately for keeping it to himself, and made him promise to always tell her from then on if he was ever upset about something.

Now it was Blaine's turn to return the favour.

He saw her falter and try to recover before she eventually broke, starting with her hazel eyes filling with tears before the small salt-water droplets escaped over her cheeks, dragging her black mascara down with them.

"R-Richard… He- He's cheating on me."

* * *

**Ooh, cliffhanger...**

**Sorry it's going to be another two weeks until this gets updated, but I really do need a break!**

**C xxxx**


	9. Chapter 9

**Long time no upload, huh?**

**Hey guys! I'm back! Yayyy! I've had this chapter unfinished for maybe three or four weeks, and it has been _so frustrating_. I just couldn't seem to get it done! School and work have been eating up all my time, and when I did try to write when I was actually _on holiday_ I just couldn't produce anything worthy of even typing out. Rather annoyingly, my writing mojo decided to come back to me just as all of my school work started, but I've been sitting down every night for the past week and going over this chapter and chapter 32 of Something's Coming, even if I only added a line or three. But, this is done now and I hope you will all enjoy it (I'm still working on SC). To be honest, I'm not so keen on the conversation bit between Kurt and Scarlett, but I couldn't think of another way to write it. I'm going to say more at the bottom so that you can read this, because I know how long it's been and I want to know what you guys think so much!**

* * *

The minute hand was shyly approaching quarter to three when Kurt shut the door behind him, startling Scarlett where she sat reading over the last draft Kurt had given her of his latest novel. She had taken her suit jacket off, draping it over the back of the chair she was sat on, and had a pair of reading glasses perched on the end of her nose. She glanced up, watching the door, with the sheet of paper she had been reading held hesitantly a few inches above the table. Kurt came in, immediately going to the cupboard and pulling out two mugs before switching on the near-worshipped coffee machine that sat on the counter.

"You're early," She observed, frowning slightly. "Is everything okay?" Kurt was never back early from visiting his family if he could help it.

"Yeah," Kurt's reply was airy and higher than normal as he sighed, and Scarlett instantly could tell he was lying. Kurt seemed to think about it again, visibly weighing up the pros and cons of the afternoon. "Well, lunch was great. It was brilliant seeing Dad and Carole and Finn again; I loved every second of it. It was when we left the restaurant things went a little… weird."

"How do you mean?" Scarlett removed her glasses and put down the sheet of paper in her hand, rising from her chair to walk over next to Kurt.

"Well, Finn spotted James and then I had to explain about how you told me I needed him there and then after that the conversation was a little… stunted." Kurt frowned at the memory; normally his family were near impossible to shut up once they all got together, and so being in a very awkward silence with them was extremely uncomfortable, not to mention worrying.

"So they saw James? That's what made it weird?" Scarlett asked, her head tilting to the side as she frowned, not understanding how something so small, so harmless, could affect the whole afternoon.

"Oh, they didn't just _see_ James," Kurt rolled his eyes as he turned back to the coffee machine. "They _met_ James. Talked to him and everything." Kurt said it as if it were just an everyday coincidence, like it was completely normal, as he poured the coffee into the two mugs and began fixing them the way both of them liked them. "I mean, it wasn't for _long_, but if anything I think that made it worse. I could tell Dad wanted to interrogate him properly, but he held back. Finn went all quiet, too, apart from when he was asking me if James carried a gun-"

"They _talked_ to him?" Scarlett choked, staring at Kurt with wide eyes. Kurt hesitated under her gaze, slowly passing over her coffee.

"…Yes?"

Scarlett immediately put her cup down on the countertop upon which she leant without taking her eyes off of Kurt. "_Kurt!_ He was supposed to be surreptitious, keep his distance and only get involved if you _needed him_, not meet your bloody family for a chat!" Kurt's eyes widened in shock; he wasn't used to seeing this side of Scarlett, the side that only came out when she was genuinely upset or angry about something, and it was even rarer for her to show it in front of Kurt. "Do you know how dangerous – how _stupid_ – that was? _Jesus_, Kurt, what were you thinking?"

Something about Scarlett's words flicked a switch inside him, and suddenly Kurt was thrown into full-on-defensive-mode. "I was thinking that my family needed to know he was _safe_ rather than some stalker! Finn and Dad were getting all protective over us, and so I did it to _calm them down_. And anyway, if anything had happened, James would have been right next to me rather than seven feet away! Everything's fine, Scarlett! Just chill, okay?"

"Everything is _not_ fine, Kurt. James isn't a 'safe' option anymore, because you've been seen with him." Scarlett explained, her voice softer but still firm in tone. "What you did today means that you can't have James go out with you anymore, not for a while at least, because if someone could recognize him, they could recognize you. I _know_ you're not some big A-lister who has a squabble of screaming girls chasing after you-"

"Gee thanks, Scarlett."

"-but you still have _fans_. And they're just as desperate to meet you as the next one." She sighed heavily and rubbed her eyes briefly. "I just care for you, K. I'm sorry for overreacting, but you understand, right?" She looked up at him with a hopeful smile, her eyes full of apology. Kurt felt calm wash over him again and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"Of course I do," He smiled when Scarlett returned his hug, her hands pulling on the back of his shirt. He held her for a few seconds before saying, "You're pretty stressed today, huh?"

Scarlett laughed into his shoulder. "You have no idea. Not _only_ have I been reading through your latest book, I have also had to deal with no less than seven invites to upcoming events – _all_ of which you are going to, by the way – as well as Thad Harwood's _incessant_ texting." It was Kurt's turn to laugh. "Seriously, the things I put up with for you." Scarlett teased, the previous tension leaving them both. "Out of the two hours he was texting me, I swear only twenty of those texts were actually about _work_. The rest of the time he was just constantly trying to flirt with me."

"Trying?" They had pulled apart now, and Kurt raised an elegant eyebrow at her with a smirk on his face. Scarlett's cheeks coloured slightly and her gaze began to falter from Kurt's.

"Well, he _was_ flirting with me, but he wasn't getting anywhere, obviously."

"Yeah. _Obviously_." Kurt smirked, crossing his arms across his chest as he watched Scarlett blush. He knew she would hate him for it, but he planned on teasing her immensely for this. "So, what did he say?"

* * *

Blaine couldn't exactly remember how or when he got there, but he was suddenly very aware of his shoulders aching, his stance rigid and a dull ache in his knuckles as he let his frustration out onto the punching bag in his gym. He had no idea how long he'd been there. His face was wet; a mix of sweat and frustrated, angry tears. His head was throbbing from crying, from being full of unanswered questions.

Pausing to take a breath, Blaine wiped his brow with the back of his arm and his mind was flooded with memories of that afternoon.

"_R-Richard… He- He's cheating on me."_

_For exactly three seconds, Blaine froze. His mind went blank and his body moved on auto-pilot as he wrapped his arm around Mia's shoulders and pulled her in close to his chest, hugging her tightly. His attention was wavering, flickering between listening to glimpses of Mia's teary account of what had happened and thoroughly thinking through different techniques he could use to kill his brother-in-law. There was no way he was going to let Richard get away with this._

_"He-he told me last week… I found texts on his phone…" _I could hunt him down- _"Some girl from his office… She's probably just after his money…"_ –and beat him to a pulp. I was always stronger than he was-_ "I tried to kick him out but he wouldn't go…"_ –he's just a monkey in a suit-_ "Mum's been helping me…" _–I never liked him. I knew there was something but I just couldn't put my finger on it-_ "Richard is still there, but he just lives around us…" _–I can't- No, it's not sinking in yet- _"I'm sorry I didn't come to you first, Blaine. I was scared what you would do…" _–Richard should be scared, not Mia. I'm going to kill that son of a bitch-_ "The kids, they- They keep asking when Daddy's coming home…" _–how could he do this to Louise and Jonah and Harvey? They're angels. They're _children_-_ "I don't know what to tell them…" _–I am. I am going to kill him-_ "He's already filed for divorce…" _–I wonder if Archie will let me use his gun?

Mia had cried into his shirt for hours, Blaine hardly having to say a word as every last detail came tumbling out of her mouth. He soothed her and shushed her and tried to offer her reassurance, but he was at a loss at what he could actually do to help.

He'd never said it out loud, but Mia's marriage with Richard had been his inspiration to actually settle down one day. Sure, he'd been known for fooling around a little, but ultimately Blaine wanted to settle down, get married and have a family of his own. He was nearly thirty, and now was the time he really wanted to start thinking about finding _The One_. He wanted his niece and nephews to have cousins to play with. He wanted someone he could dote on, wake up next to and go to bed with. He wanted that happiness that his sister seemed to have caught and held onto with both hands.

But now it was slipping through her fingers, and the picture was melting away.

Blaine had carried Mia up to the guest bedroom after she'd fallen asleep in his arms, telling Thad that he wanted his niece and nephews in LA before the week was through - even if it meant his mother had to come as well. He had gone to his gym not long after that, his punch bag being his only source of comfort while he tried to clear his head.

It was even better imagining it was Richard.

* * *

**Okay so this story is just getting extended. I'm really going to have to sort out a cut-off point... As much as I love this story, I can't write it forever. I have other ideas, too :)**

**Right, now that I'm back, I'm going to talk to you all about my future uploading. You know that little schedule I had? SC on Mondays & Thursdays, TC on Sundays? Yeah, scrap that. Due to school and work and the crazy amount of homework I will most likely start getting soon, I'm going to become one of those writers that just uploads when they're done. That means I can upload when I'm done and not have to pressure myself towards a deadline, which was one of the reasons why I always thought my work was a little shoddy. I'd rush things if they weren't done, and so now I can take my time to perfect things. Obviously, I won't take _too_ long, because as much as you guys tell me you love reading it I love writing it, too, and so I can't go too long without it. Even when I was in Wales (which was _awesome_. I went paintballing, quad biking and white water rafting - all three of which were hilariously fun!) I couldn't stop thinking about my stories, about getting back to uploading for you guys and hearing what you think,, about writing. I do it in lessons too, when I've finished a task and the teacher is waiting for the class to move on, I allow myself to drift off into the Wonderful World of Klaine and mentally go over the plot lines so that I'm more confident when I sit down to write. **

**I know you all probably will anyway (because you're all supermegafoxyawesomehot), but I hope you guys understand this change I'm making :)**

**Now I have to throw a little parade (a shout-out just won't do) for my beta and _very_ close friend RainySunnyEnding. She has helped me through a lot, and in return she's trusted and confided in me, too. Lu, I don't know where I'd be without you, apart from having a serious lack of Klaine/Darren/Chris pictures on my phone ;) Seriously, you are just amazing, fantastic, incredible, just... wow. You are Wow. Okay? Wow. - That's you :D **

**For those of you who haven't, or do already, please can you read Lu's _Tears & Cookies_? She uploaded tonight, but she won't believe me at all when I tell her that the chapter was brilliant, as always. She's being all stubborn, so we're going to have to gang up on her a bit (in a nice way) and prove that she's wrong! I need your help, guys - don't let me down! ;)**

**And... deepbreathbecausethatnotewas soveryverylong.**

**But yes, I hope that this chapter was enjoyable for all of you. I personally love when Blaine is planning on killing Richard, with all of his thoughts interspersing with Mia's speech. I enjoyed writing that bit for personal reasons... :D**

**God, someone stop me! If you read this far, you have some serious patience! As a reward, I offer you virtual cupcakes and cookies as well as some hot chocolate (I know it's Summer/Autumn, but I still stand by the fact that hot chocolate is one of the best inventions ever) :D**

**Love you guys, thanks for your patience in waiting for me to upload this, and for reading this extremely long A/N!**

**C xxxxxx**


	10. Chapter 10

**Happy New Year, people!**

**Wooaaaahhhh, so how long has it been? Erm, over three months? Last update was the 11th of September (LAST YEAR - feels so weird saying that!) and I'm pretty sure I promised this chapter at the end of a week in November... Hmm. So, I kinda broke that promise :( Forgive me? I hope that this suffices for the long break between chapters! **

**Anyhoo, here's chapter 10! I hope you all enjoy it, and I'll finish this A/N at the bottom so you can read the chapter... **

**Enjoy! Xx**

* * *

"Louise, honey, no jumping on Uncle Blaine's sofas!" Mia chastised from the doorway, her daughter having immediately taken off in the direction of the plush white sofas as soon as her young eyes had spotted them.

"No, no, it's fine," Blaine grunted from behind her, lugging two of the suitcases that had arrived with the children earlier that morning. Thad had done a good deal of fulfilling Blaine's wishes, his niece and nephews flying out from Washington to LA just two days after Mia's confession. Blaine and Mia's mother hadn't joined them, though; with her and their father both in their sixties, neither much entertained the idea of flying out to LA in such short notice. They promised that they would try to come and visit their son soon, but someone had to keep an eye on 'the stinking, slimy weasel' that was Richard Conway, as their mother said.

The whole ride back to Blaine's house had been filled with incessant questioning over the things that could only trouble minds as young as Louise's and Jonah's: "Uncle Blaine? Do you have a big TV? Can we watch it?"

"Uncle Blaine? How big _is_ your house?"

"What do you think of my shoes, Uncle Blaine? Aren't they pretty?"

"Mine are cooler, aren't they, Uncle Blaine?"

"Uncle Blaine? Do you think dragons are real?"

All of which were accompanied by the happy gurgling and the occasional random word from Harvey, such as 'car', 'dog' and 'Mommy', Mia earning a tug on her hair every time Harvey said the latter.

Finally, when arriving back at Blaine's house and with little help from Thad, who strolled inside, phone in one hand and the smallest of the bags in the other, all of the suitcases had been brought inside and the children had been shown the rooms in which they would be staying for their visit.

"Dinner?" Blaine asked at five o'clock that evening after the kids had unpacked... And found the 72" TV.

"Please," Mia smiled at him gratefully over her mug of coffee, her fourth one in the six hours since the children had arrived. "Take out?" She asked, already glancing towards the phone mounted on the kitchen wall and trying to remember where her purse was. Blaine span to stare at her, mildly affronted.

"I was going to cook, actually," He stated proudly, folding his arms over his chest as he stood just that little bit taller.

"Really? I mean, that sounds wonderful." Mia rectified herself when she could see her brother's upset at her surprise. "What are you going to make?" Blaine glared at her for a few more seconds before replying that he'd been trying out new recipes from their Italian great-grandmother's recipe book and had enjoyed numerous successes with her lasagne, and so he would make that. Mia agreed that it was a good idea and that she would help later on if her brother so required, but for now she would finish her coffee and wait until she was needed. They conversed across the room; Mia still sat at the breakfast bar as Blaine moved around the kitchen, joking and reminiscing about past memories, including several jibes from Mia aimed at Blaine's previous cooking attempts.

While Blaine was still cooking, Mia left the room to retrieve Harvey from his crib, where he had been put down for a nap three hours earlier, and to make sure that Louise and Jonah hadn't driven Thad to the brink of insanity just yet. Thad had offered to keep a watch on the two youngsters thinking that all they would be doing was watching TV, but he could not have been more wrong. Mia walked into the room to find several of the sofa cushions out of place that had obviously been used as trampolines, with Louise and Jonah on either side of Thad asking him four hundred questions a minute about his phone and what did it do and why does he need it and does it have any games on it they can play? When he saw Mia, his eyes alone begged her to rescue him.

"You offered to look after them." She reminded him.

"I thought they were just going to sit and watch TV!" He exclaimed in return, gesturing to the large screen that was now going unnoticed by both children.

"Oh, Thad," Mia chuckled good-naturedly as she turned to re-enter the kitchen. "Do you know nothing about children?" Harvey gurgled over her shoulder as she walked away.

"How's he doing?" Blaine asked when she sat back at the breakfast bar with Harvey sat on her lap.

"He's learning," Was Mia's response. Blaine chuckled, remembering how that phrase was used about him the first few times he took care of Louise when she was old enough to visit. "How's dinner coming along?"

"Nearly done, I reckon," He checked the dinner one last time, confirming that it was ready to serve. "Do you want to call the kids in and I'll serve up?"

Five minutes later, after Louise and Jonah had finally been pulled off of Thad's legs where they were clinging on to stop him from walking, the family were sat around the table together. Thad found himself caught between Louise and Jonah once more, a 'coincidence' according to Blaine and Mia. They discussed what they could do now that the kids were with them, with Thad warning Blaine that he had to keep Saturday night free.

"Why?"

"Puckerman is holding another party," Thad explained, pulling the invitational email up on his phone and passing it over, lifting it above the reaching hands of Louise and Jonah, who still found great fascination in the device.

"Another one?" Mia asked, leaning over to read the invite with her brother. "Didn't you go to one just last week?"

"Yes," Thad answered. "But Puckerman loves a party. You should go, Mia; it's been a few years since you went to any Hollywood parties."

"I have _kids_, Thad," Mia shot back, glaring at him across the table. "I can't go out like I used to." Thad shrugged and continued to eat, flashing a smile to Jonah who had been watching the exchange. "Besides," Mia resumed. "No-one knows who I am anymore; I was barely in the show business before I left it."

"Go for some fun then," Thad reasoned.

"Thad's got a point," Blaine piped up, handing the phone back and looking to his sister. "God knows you need some fun right now." He offered a soft smile and Mia allowed herself to consider the idea.

"What about the kids? I can't just leave them here."

"Don't worry, I know a great babysitter who doesn't live too far from here." Thad interjected. Mia and Blaine both stared at him. "I dated her last summer," Thad elaborated with a soft shrug. "We kept in touch."

Mia was about to question it, but decided not to; what Thad got up to in his private life was none of her business, and she wanted to actually finish her dinner, which was actually surprisingly good considering the last time Blaine claimed to have cooked for her she had found the packaging in the garbage the next day. She was still reluctant, however, and brother was quick to try and extinguish it.

"I won't let you get drunk, or hit on, I promise." Mia raised a questioning eyebrow as a grin began to tug on one corner of her mouth. Blaine raised his right hand, little finger extended, and Mia laughed; when they were younger, Mia and Blaine had made many a pinky-swear, and it was nice to see that these little parts of their relationship hadn't gotten lost amongst their busy, grown-up lives.

"Fine," Mia linked her own little finger with her brother's, Blaine's eyes lighting up as she did so. "I'll go, but I leave before midnight, with or without you."

"You've got yourself a deal, Cinderella." The siblings grinned at each other before dropping their hands and turning back to their respective plates, Mia alternating between feeding herself and her youngest child.

* * *

"So," Rachel started as she inspected a slim, red cocktail dress. "This _guy_…Who is he?"

Mercedes rolled her eyes as she admired a nearby purple dress, a glint of curiosity in her eyes as she turned to look at Kurt as well. The chestnut-haired author huffed and folded his arms across his chest, leaning his shoulder against the wall as he eyed his two new friends with annoyance and suspicion.

"_Why_ do you keep asking me that?" He asked, narrowing his eyes at her, but a small, amused smirk was starting to tug at the corners of his mouth. "I didn't tell you the first fifty times you asked, I'm not going to tell you now." Since their meeting at the party a few nights ago, Kurt, Rachel and Mercedes had kept in contact and a strong, three-way friendship was forming. They had decided to go on a shopping trip together in order to get to know one another better, the girls soon learning that Kurt's keen eye for fashion was a very good allegiance to make.

"We just want to know!" Rachel whined, abandoning the red dress on the rack and coming over to him.

"Well I'm not going to tell you, so you may as well stop asking." Kurt replied softly, a gentle smile finally breaking through, his voice without a hint of malice or threat. Rachel had been constantly asking and hinting at Kurt to let them in on his secret crush over the past few days, and Kurt had lost count somewhere around twenty seven. He guessed the numbers must now be approaching fifty.

"Come on, Kurt," Mercedes tried a gentler approach. "Why won't you tell us?"

Kurt floundered for a second, trying to remind himself of the exact reasons that had led to him choosing secrecy over gushing like a schoolgirl. His first thought was that he didn't want the girls to know it was _Blaine_, because Blaine was _famous_ – he didn't want the press to be all over them. He then had to quickly remind himself that he and Blaine weren't _actually_ dating; he didn't even know if the guy was gay or not, and so he couldn't get defensive over their 'relationship'. His next thought was that Blaine was rather well-known in showbiz and magazines for dating several different women over a short stretch of time: even if he _was_ gay, Kurt didn't really want to be dating a man like that, but he had no doubt that the girls would persuade him to try.

He soon realised that Rachel and Mercedes were watching him with small – but still noticeable – smirks. He'd obviously been daydreaming for longer than he had anticipated, and blushed a ferocious red that made his pale skin appear burnt when he realised that for himself.

"Because- Because nothing will ever happen between him and me, _that's_ why." Kurt had been telling himself this for nearly a week, ever since the dark, curly-haired singer had approached him at Santana Lopez's party. It was a fact that repeated over and over in his head like a record constantly on loop, classic from the 'Forget About Him And Move On' album that was the soundtrack to his love life. But hearing the words out loud, allowing his tongue to form the words in his mouth only for his voice to spit them out made it all suddenly a lot more _real_ – and a lot more painful. All the clichés of coming to such a realisation bombarded him at once; a slap to the face, a dagger to the heart, a heavy weight crushing his chest. Blinking through the tears that had miraculously formed in his pale-blue eyes, Kurt came to realise that he was more upset by this statement than he had allowed himself to express, and while it may have been a good idea to let him cry a little over this in selfish self-pity, a clothes store was not the place to do it.

Wiping roughly at his eyes he looked back up to the girls in front of him; their amused smiles now replaced by concerned frowns. He cursed himself for getting so upset and internally scolded himself for being so stupidly emotional over a _crush_. Because a crush was all this was, right?

"Kurt, honey," Mercedes cooed, gently taking one of his hands in hers to pull him in for a hug. "You don't _know_ that," Her voice was loud in his ear, but at the same time it was immensely comforting. "Don't put yourself down so much; you're amazing, you're kind, you're funny, sweet, _everything_ a guy could want." Kurt sank into the hug – for Mercedes was slightly shorter than he was – and allowed her loving warmth to wash over him and momentarily cocoon him in a world where nothing could go wrong, and where the guy you wanted, wanted you back. "And if all that fails," Mercedes added, still hugging Kurt in a way that he found almost motherly. "Your ass ain't too bad, either." Kurt laughed into her shoulder, holding her tighter and feeling her do the same in return.

Just as he was about to pull away, he felt a pair of arms wrap around his torso and a pressure on his back. A glimpse over his shoulder confirmed that Rachel was joining in on their embrace, the two girls effectively sandwiching him between their caring, loving, amazing, accepting selves. Kurt chuckled, evoking giggles from the two girls, and soon all three of them were laughing into each other's shoulders. They may not have known each other that long – in fact, it was only just a week since they had met each other – but in those few moments, when Kurt had one arm hugging Mercedes and the other holding Rachel's hands against his chest, all three of them knew that their blossoming friendship would last them a lifetime.

"Right," Rachel cleared her throat as they stood apart again. "Dresses?" She looked from Kurt to Mercedes and back again, motioning to the vast selection of attire around them. Kurt chanced a glance at Mercedes, who raised an eyebrow at him as if to say 'Are you up for it?', before turning back to Rachel.

"Dresses." He agreed.

* * *

"Jonah, _please_ stop trying to undress the mannequins," Blaine sighed as he pulled his nephew away and smartened up the mannequin in question. Jonah only giggled and skipped off, most likely to find another model he could attempt to unclothe. Blaine hurried after him, stopping him short of trying to hide amongst a display of skirts and taking his hand in his. After a few minutes of wandering round the store whilst Jonah tried to free his hand Blaine finally found his sister browsing through dresses as she gently rocked Harvey's stroller back and forth.

"Mia, tell me _why_ the kids had to come shopping with us?" Blaine whined as his sister inspected another cocktail dress. Mia stared at him like he'd just asked her if the sky was purple.

"You really think I'm going to leave them alone with Thad?" she asked incredulously, still holding the dress even though she was no longer examining it. Blaine thought about it for a second, but at risk of saying the wrong thing he merely shrugged. "It's okay when we're in the same house, but leaving them with him while I _go out_? I don't think so. They'd eat him alive!" Blaine laughed because he knew his sister was probably right. Jonah, who had been listening to the exchange because his uncle's grip on his hand gave him no other choice, laughed because his mother had _no_ idea. "What do you think of _this_ one?" Mia returned her gaze to the dress in her right hand, her left holding onto the handle of Harvey's stroller.

"It's… nice- Mimi, you _know_ I hate dress shopping! Why are you asking me? I know _nothing_ about fashion."

"You dress well." Mia countered without looking up as she moved onto a different dress.

"_Fine_, I know nothing about _women's_ fashion." Mia smirked and nodded in agreement.

"You're right; you don't. Where's Lou? She'll tell me if her mummy will look good in this," Mia scanned the surrounding areas of the store for a few seconds before a frown started to form on her features. Blaine looked about him as well, a matching expression soon contorting his features. "Blaine?" The singer looked over to his sister to see a look of pure terror etched on her face. "Where's my daughter?"

A quick two hours passed, during which Kurt had Rachel and Mercedes trying on every dress the store had to offer that he felt would suit the two girls, inspecting and analysing all the different styles, colours and lengths. Rachel had walked away with the red cocktail dress she had spotted at the start of their shopping excursion, whilst Mercedes had instantly fallen in love with a black strapless floor-length gown adorned with diamonds as soon as she'd seen it, and Kurt had a very hard time denying that it was perfect for her. They had then descended upon the men's department in search of a perfect suit for Kurt. With all three of them being invited to more and more parties as their successes grew, the three of them had agreed that bonding whilst shopping was the best way to spend time together.

The three of them were just about to head out to find a restaurant for lunch when Mercedes spied a baby department and rushed over. "It's my nephew's birthday on Sunday," She explained once Kurt and Rachel had caught up with her. "I need to get him a present and I completely forgot!" She hurried off in the direction of toys on the other side of the section, so Kurt and Rachel decided upon a game of 'find the cutest baby outfit you can', cooing at nearly every piece of tiny clothing they came across.

Kurt was just about to gush to Rachel over 'the cutest little pink dress you ever laid eyes upon' when something knocked into his hip and nearly knocked him off balance. He turned, expecting to see an apologetic mother who had accidentally bumped him with her stroller, but saw nothing. A small sniffle from his left alerted him, and looking down he was met by a pair of large, hazel-brown eyes whose golden flecks threatened familiarity. Discarding the little pink dress almost instantly, Kurt knelt down beside her.

"Are you alright?" he asked, noting how scared and confused she looked.

"What are you talking about? I'm fine- oh!" Rachel, who had been facing the other way, turned to see Kurt talking to a little girl who looked no older than five years old. Her nod was very weak, but it was noticed and acknowledged all the same by the two adults. Rachel began scanning the store for any parents or other guardians as Kurt continued to assure her everything was okay.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" Kurt asked gently. The girl opened her mouth to respond, but a voice that was firmly imprinted in Kurt's memory – and was definitely _not_ one of a five year old girl – was heard.

"Louise!" Kurt and Rachel both turned their heads to see the person approaching. The girl span around and ran from them, straight into the arms of the man who had called her name. Kurt swallowed hard; as the man got nearer, it was clear to see that the man was the one and only Blaine Anderson.

Due to the utter relief that coursed through his body at the sight of his niece alive and well – despite the red rimmed eyes from where she'd been trying not to cry – Blaine didn't take immediate notice of the people who appeared to have found her. Instead his instant reaction was to scoop Louise up in his arms and hold her as close as he possibly could, the scent of her mother's raspberry shampoo filling his nostrils and calming his heartbeat. The young girl's arms tightened around his neck and Blaine felt the sting of tears developing in his eyes: he didn't want to imagine what could have happened if he and Mia hadn't noticed her absence until later, or, even worse, at all.

The sound of a throat clearing in front of him caused Blaine to open his eyes, reminding him that he had someone to thank. What he wasn't expecting to meet his gaze was a pair of ocean-blue eyes; the same ones that had been surprising him by appearing throughout his dreams since the day they'd met.

"Kurt?" The other man nodded, a dusty pink blush settling on his cheeks.

"Hi, Blaine," He replied, a small smile on his lips that Blaine wasn't sure about the meaning of. A small brunette woman was stood next to him, her eyes darting between the two men as they gazed at each other. Kurt seemed to remember her presence after a few seconds as he turned to her and introduced them to each other. "Blaine, this is my friend, Rachel Berry. Rachel, this is Blaine Ander-"

"I know who he is, Kurt!" Rachel cut him off with a sickly sweet smile in the singer's direction. Blaine felt his face heat up slightly as he shook her hand. "Is this your daughter?" she asked him, a sudden wave of confusion hitting her as her attention landed upon the girl in his arms again. Kurt felt his heart plummet; maybe this guy _did_ have kids. He could be a Jude Law or someone, getting girls pregnant as he went through seemingly every girl in L.A and a ten mile radius. Blaine chuckled as Louise started to laugh in his arms, Rachel and Kurt sharing a confused look before turning back to the Anderson pair.

"No, he's my Uncle Blaine, silly!" Louise exclaimed, still laughing. Rachel and Kurt couldn't keep back their smiles as they watched the two interact, Blaine gently placing a kiss to Louise's cheek and Louise returning it with a smile. Kurt noticed how relaxed Blaine looked as he held her, and Rachel didn't miss the longing look on her new friend's face as he watched.

"Well, we'd better get back," Blaine finally said with a sincere smile as he looked back to Kurt and Rachel. "Thank you, for finding her." He extended his hand to Rachel, who took it with a smile, before turning to Kurt. Kurt took his hand gently but nearly stole it back when their skin touched: it felt _familiar_, like this shouldn't be the first time he held it and it shouldn't be the last, either. It was something he'd never felt before, and it confused him but thrilled him at the same time. He kept his composure, however, and offered a little wave to Louise as Blaine walked her away. Rachel waited until Blaine had disappeared around the corner before she turned back to Kurt.

"He seems nice," She grinned, gaining a satisfying feeling of victory when Kurt blushed fully to a deep shade of red.

"Yes, very nice." Kurt replied shortly as gave her a sidelong glance. Rachel was about to press further when Mercedes re-joined them grasping a few items for her nephew.

"What did I miss?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at Kurt's flushed face and Rachel's wide grin.

"I know who Kurt's guy is!" Rachel squealed excitedly, clapping her hands as she jumped up and down. Mercedes' jaw dropped as Kurt fired his best bitch-glare at Rachel, the shade of red his face was turning making him look like he could explode any second.

"Who?" Mercedes urged to Rachel, ignoring the exasperated sigh that came from Kurt as he threw his hands up. Rachel glanced at him for a second, seemingly debating whether she should say or not.

She decided she should.

"Blaine Anderson!" She cried, giggling uncontrollably when Kurt mumbled something about 'making it look like an accident'.

"NO!" Mercedes beamed, turning to gape at Kurt.

"I _never_ said that!" Kurt exclaimed, eyes wide and silently begging them to just _shut up already_.

Rachel smirked at him. "You didn't have to."

* * *

**So, was that okay for over three months of no story? I hope it was! ****I'm going to try and get started on chapter 11 ASAP, but I have some homework I need to get done for next Wednesday when we get back to school and I have to start getting some injections for when I go to Tanzania this summer (Yay, needles -.-). But hopefully it won't be another three months until I update this story again! **

**So... reviews are free? :) Let me know what you think, and if you have anything you'd like to see happen between these lovely boys. If I can't add it into this story, I can try and write a oneshot/drabble dedicated to you :) **

**If you've read this far, tell me your favourite superhero in your review (I watched The Avengers film the other day, and I'm pretty sure I'm in love with all of them - but Dr Banner, not the Hulk!)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Oh my god, it's been three months and two days since I've updated this! Daaammnnn... Well, let me tell you, it was not intentional in any way whatsoever. I know I kept saying "I'm working on it, it will be updated soon!" it just... well, it didn't get updated. I had no time to work on it, given stupid school work and January exams and coursework and my job, but didn't I tell you I'd work on it in my half term? Well, I kept to my word and here we are; Chapter 11 :) **

**A serious thank you to all of the 93 people who have alerted this story as well as the 26 who have favourited it! This story very nearly didn't happen because I had already started _Something's Coming_ when I got the idea, but I couldn't forget the idea and I started writing it. I uploaded the first chapter on the 24th of June last year, and wow I know it's been a long time between updates but I really wasn't expecting this! So, yeah, just thanks to everybody! **

**A special thanks to RainySunnyEnding, who beta'd this chapter and pretty much everything else I've put up on this website. She's amazing, and if you haven't checked out her stories yet you really should, jus' saying :)**

**Enjoy xx**

* * *

Mia paced back and forth, bouncing Harvey in her arms to try and calm his wailing, as Jonah watched her from where he sat in the stroller, chin in his hands and elbows resting on his knees. With another distressed sigh, Mia glanced around the store again to try and catch a sight of either Blaine, Louise or, preferably, both.

"Excuse me?" Mia span on her heel to see a young-looking girl standing timidly in front of her. Her reddish-brown hair was tied into two, short pigtails and her fringe sat just above her eyes. She wore the store's uniform – a black polo shirt and black trousers – which contrasted her pale skin. If Mia hadn't been in such a state of panic she might have told the girl that she was really quite pretty, but, unfortunately, she _was_ in such a state of panic. When Mia had turned around the girl had blushed and bowed her head slightly, obviously nervous at having to address a customer: she must have been new. "I- was just wondering i-if you were okay?" Mia gave a slight snort of derision as she bounced Harvey on her hip.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine," She drawled sarcastically, "My daughter's only gone missing in your store and my brother went to find her but he still hasn't come back yet and neither has Louise and Harvey won't stop crying and I don't know what to do-"

"Mummy!" Both Mia and the store assistant turned to see Louise running towards them, Blaine following behind with a wide smile on his face. Mia instantly dropped to her knees and held out her free arm, Louise eagerly running into her embrace. Mia held her daughter and youngest son close, Harvey's screams now down to soft whimpers. When he reached them, Blaine gently took Harvey from his sister so that Mia could hold Louise properly, both of them silently trying to keep back their tears of relief. Blaine turned to quietly thank the store assistant for her concern, but assured her with a warm smile that everything was okay now. She bashfully took the compliment and left with one last glance towards Mia and Louise. After nearly a minute, Mia leant back to look into her daughter's eyes.

"Don't you _ever_ run away from me again," she scolded, and Louise nodded gently with a small sniffle.

"Yes, Mummy," she murmured, " 'm sorry, Mummy."

"I was so worried about you," Mia pulled Louise in again, this time giving her a tight hug before releasing her and standing up. "Right, after all of that… excitement, I think we should head home. I don't much feel like shopping anymore."

"But what about the party? I thought you wanted a new dress for it," Blaine spoke gently as he now bounced Harvey on his hip, his nephew now calming and gurgling happily. Mia waved him off.

"I'm sure I can find something," she assured him as she shooed Jonah out of the stroller so that Blaine could strap Harvey in. This time she held out her hand for Louise to take and Mia held onto her tightly as she began to walk out of the store, Blaine following behind with Jonah's hand once again in his. "Now I think of it, there's a dress in my wardrobe back in Washington that I never wore, do you think I could get Mum to send it over?"

* * *

Kurt kept his gaze forward, but it was hard to ignore the bouncing figure of Rachel Berry as she skipped along beside him. Mercedes walked with her arm linked with Kurt's on his other side watching the two of them in amusement and occasionally rolling her eyes at Rachel's words.

"Oh my God, Kurt," She squealed again as another idea formed in her mind. "And you two are going to be _working together_! Just imagine it! You could help him learn his lines and stuff, and you can hang out together… Kurt, this is _totally_ an excuse for you to hang out with him and I will be very, _very_ mad at you if you don't take it." Her sudden change to a serious tone made both Kurt's and Mercedes' steps falter as they turned to gape at her. She glared back at Kurt with a meaningful gaze before she broke out into a sweet smile and skipped away. Kurt turned to Mercedes, who simply stared back at him with the same dumbfounded, perplexed expression as he was wearing, until they both decided it would be best to catch up with Rachel before someone heard her chattering away about Kurt's _supposed_ attraction towards Blaine (he still refused to admit it out loud, even though it was true).

* * *

For the rest of the afternoon Louise stayed right next to Mia, barely leaving her mother's side after her experience in the store that morning. It meant she had to do tasks she normally tried to avoid, but she found helping Mia to bathe Harvey or put away after washing and drying the dinner things strangely calming and rather enjoyable. Even when she saw Jonah sneaking up on Thad, who was falling asleep on the sofa, Louise stayed by Mia's side rather than trying to pry the cell phone from the hand of her uncle's sleeping manager.

Jonah wasn't the only one who had noticed Thad was a sleep; Mia and Blaine had both noticed in passing, an angelic-looking Jonah sat next to him and smiling up at them when they walked by. Now both of them were in Blaine's vast kitchen chatting over coffee with Louise next to them with a glass of juice. Even though her drink was cold, she still held it as her mother and uncle did with her hands wrapped around it.

"Seriously, does he live here or something?" Mia teased nodding in the general direction of the living room where Thad was still drifting off, occasionally jerking awake thanks to the feeling of someone holding his hand. Blaine chuckled gently as he shook his head.

"No, he's just staying here for a few days while this contract stuff is still going through," Blaine explained, "It's so that if any big changes are made we're in the same house rather than a forty minute drive away." He took a sip of his coffee before adding with a shrug, "It also keeps the phone bills down." Mia nodded her understanding and took a sip of her own drink, smirking when she saw Louise copy her out of the corner of her eye.

"Y'know," she started, smirking at her younger brother, "We haven't had a proper chat since I got here." Blaine frowned, remembering the night Mia had told him all about Richard and her impending divorce.

"Yes we have," Blaine told her, "I think the night you came was a pretty serious chat." Mia bristled at his words and Blaine immediately felt guilty for what he'd said, but Mia just shook her head gently and her smile reformed.

"I wasn't talking about _me_, Blaine," she informed him with a teasing smile, and Blaine groaned quietly as he realised where the conversation was headed: The Sister Interrogation Conversation. "So c'mon; what's going on with _you_, Blainey?" Mia leant towards him over the table and nudged his leg with her foot.

"Yeah, Blainey!" Louise copied her mother again, leaning over the table and staring at her uncle. Both of the adults laughed as Blaine raised his hands in surrender.

"Woah!" he turned to Louise, "You're ganging up on me, too? No fair!" Louise and Mia both giggled and Blaine grinned at how similar Louise already was to her mother already at only five years old.

"Spill it, Uncle B!" Louise added, pointing at him with a mock-stern glare that soon gave way to her adorable grin.

"What would you like to know?" Blaine asked them smiling.

"Well, just… everything, really," Mia grinned and Blaine rolled his eyes playfully. "Anything that's on your mind? Any_one_ on your mind?" she waggled her eyebrows at him, but rather than the bashful smile that normally appeared before Blaine started telling his sister about _this girl_ and _that girl_, Blaine's face fell slightly and Mia knew that something was up.

"Lou," Mia turned to her daughter, "Will you go and get Jonah ready for bed for me, darling?" Louise's smile faltered a little.

"But-"

"Please, darling?" Mia asked again with another warm smile, "It would be really helping Mummy." Louise chewed on the inside of her lip before nodding and jumping down off of her chair. She kissed Mia's cheek on her way past before leaving the room, the distant call of "Jonah, time to get ready for bed!" making Blaine and Mia smirk. When she was sure that her daughter was out of earshot, Mia turned back to her brother who by now was gazing into the swirling, hot liquid of his coffee. She leant across the table and put her hand over his, and Blaine looked up at her with a slightly unsure smile as he turned his hand over so that he could hold onto his sister. Ever since Blaine had found out his sister was intending on coming to stay with him in LA he'd been meaning to talk to her, but when she'd told him the news about Richard he'd held his tongue. Now, especially following the shopping trip, he was just about feeling ready to talk to her. "Blaine?" Blaine looked up to his sister and felt his nerves increase as he took in her wide, concerned eyes and small yet comforting smile; it was the same expression she used to wear when they were children and she was trying to get him to open up.

"I-I don't know how to-" Blaine cut himself off, running his free hand through his curls and glaring at the table. Mia squeezed his hand encouragingly and he gripped back tightly.

"Just take your time," she soothed him, and Blaine was so thankful that he had a sister like Mia.

"It's just- I kind of m-met someone," he felt Mia squeeze his hand and looked up to see her grinning widely, her hazel eyes full of excitement. He shook his head softly and looked back to the table. "It's not as easy as that, Mi," he sighed heavily, "Nor is it that simple." Mia's grin fell and she took both of Blaine's hands in hers watching him carefully.

"What isn't?" Mia asked, concerned as Blaine continued to stare at the table, "Blaine? What isn't that simple?" Blaine sat still for a few seconds before sighing heavily and sitting back, running his hand through his hair again. Mia noticed the beginnings of tears in his eyes and could tell that he was having trouble with what he was trying to say. "Blaine?"

"The- Who I met?" Blaine looked up at his sister, his eyes meeting hers, and took a deep breath, "It's- It's a guy."

* * *

**Oooohhh... Does that count as a cliffhanger?**

**At least you shouldn't have to wait as long this time for the next chapter - I'm already working on it :)**

**Until next time Xxxx**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello! So, I said I was going to try and update this chapter before I went back to school, but there was a certain point I wanted to get to and it took longer than I thought. But I'm uploading it now which means you don't have to 'make it look like an accident' anymore (whoever that guest was, not gonna lie I wasn't sure whether to laugh or not when I read that). However, that does mean this chapter has slightly more content than the last few have had. This is mainly a Blaine-centric chapter, but it does have glimpses of Kurt in it to just break it up a little bit. **

**I hope you all enjoy it; I don't know when I'm next going to be able to upload because I have exams in about three weeks and that means I don't know when I'm going to be able to write. I hope this chapter will suffice though, as it goes a lot into Blaine's feelings on what's going on, as well as some Anderson sibling adorableness :)**

* * *

For twenty-eight of her thirty-four years, Mia Conway-Anderson had watched her baby brother grow up and learn the ways of the world. She had been in the room when he'd taken his first steps, tottering towards their mother as their father stood by with the video camera, and had witnessed his many attempts at his first word. Back then, when he was just a baby and she was six years old, Mia was ashamed to admit that she despised Blaine; he took all of the attention she had gotten so used to and he couldn't even do anything. Babies, as far as Mia was concerned, were boring.

And then it happened. All of baby Blaine's attempts to form coherent words finally paid off one rainy Tuesday afternoon in one of Mia's school breaks. She was stuck inside as the rain tumbled down outside with no escape from her brother, who by now was crawling and had learnt how to follow people, especially Mia. No matter how much their parents tried to distract him, Blaine was obsessed with her. Fed-up and annoyed, Mia had given in and allowed Blaine to sit next to her on the sofa as their parents watched on proudly at the two of them getting along. Mia realised that Blaine could actually be quite adorable, with his little gurgling noises and adorable baby-giggle, and before long she was cuddling into him and pointing out all the different characters in her program, explaining which ones she liked and which ones she didn't. And just as the credits were rolling and Mia was explaining how the characters weren't actually real because those were the actors' names on the screen, and one day Blaine would see 'Mia Anderson' up on his screen because she was going to be an actress when she grew up, Blaine turned to her and, simply and proudly and clear as crystal, said "Mi Annerson" whilst pointing up at her.

And that was it. The bond between them was sealed and it had only grown stronger since. And now, twenty seven years later, it was still growing stronger every day. On the odd occasion, Blaine would look at his sister in a certain way and she would see him as the one year old whose first word was her name, and she was sure it would still happen well into their grey years. And so to see him this distressed, this… unsure of himself, for Mia was one of the worst forms of torture.

They were now sat in silence, Blaine's words still hanging in the air between them, with the distant sounds of Louise and Jonah upstairs as well as the muffled sound of the TV piercing the atmosphere. Only a few seconds had passed in reality but to Blaine it felt like it had almost been an hour. He suddenly felt completely overwhelmed, his blood rushing in his ears and his whole body beginning to shake as the silence conjured up the thousands of possible thoughts that could be running through his sister's mind. For Blaine, Mia was the one constant in his life; his parents were there but at a distance, never completely involved in his life, and even though he had Puck and Thad and a few other friends that had been in his life for years he knew that they could go as easily as they had come. No, Mia was his one constant, even when she was across the country in Washington or he had been around the world touring, they had always kept in touch and she was always the one he went to when he had news, good or bad.

And so the thought of losing her was absolutely terrifying.

"Blaine," she nearly whispered his name her voice was that quiet, and that was when Blaine started to fall apart: he couldn't lose his sister, he just _couldn't_. He held his breath, begging the tears that had started to sting at the corners of his eyes not to fall: once the first tear fell, the floodgates would be opened and the rest of them would not be stopped. "Oh Blaine," Mia hurried to the seat next to her brother and immediately wrapped her arms around him, hushing him and beginning to rock him back and forth. "Oh Blaine it's okay, honey. Talk to me, Blaine."

* * *

If Kurt Hummel ever allowed the three women in his kitchen to know anything about his love life ever again, he would let Finn buy him a new outfit.

On returning from their shopping trip, Rachel and Mercedes had taken up Kurt's offer to stay for coffee (an offer only made because Kurt had managed to distract Rachel by bringing up the new film she was set to star in). The three of them had been in a rather in-depth discussion about whether Rachel should allow the film company to colour her hair when Scarlett had called in to drop off the latest draft of Kurt's novel that she had finally finished reading. She hadn't expected Kurt and the girls to be there, and in all honesty when she had noticed she had planned on simply slipping in and out without disturbing them, but when Rachel and Mercedes had seen her they'd eagerly invited her to join them. They'd met a few times through functions and things in the past when Scarlett had been working with other clients, but Scarlett didn't know the two women all that well. Seeing how happy their friendship made Kurt, however, motivated her to change that.

"So, did you kids have fun shopping today?" Scarlett implored as Kurt re-joined the group at the table handing Scarlett the coffee he'd just made her. Kurt thought back over the morning's shopping they'd done; the girls trying on dresses, them spending time together, seeing Blaine again… Kurt's eyes widened and his eyes snapped towards Rachel and Mercedes, both of them smirking mischievously as they glanced towards each other and then turned to Scarlett. Rachel, being closest, spoke first.

"Well, you'll _never_ believe who we saw today…"

* * *

"-and I just d-don't know what's- what's going on," Blaine hiccupped as he tried to keep back the gentle sobs that were pushing at his throat. He'd been trying to quietly explain to Mia why he was crying, but so far he'd only managed to say the same few things over and over: 'I don't know what's going on'; 'I don't know how to explain it'; 'I don't know what to do, Mia'; 'I don't want you to hate me', the last of which especially made the tear in Mia's heart rip just that little bit deeper.

"Blaine, you _know_ I could never and would never, _ever_ hate you," was the first thing Mia felt she had to say; she couldn't let her brother think there was ever the possibility that she could hate him. Blaine nodded weakly against her as she held him close, one of her arms around his shoulder whilst the other held both of his hands and rested in her lap. She kissed his curls on the top of his head before speaking softly again. "But I can't help you if I don't know why you're upset." Blaine sat back to look at her, his eyes already becoming red around their edges. Mia couldn't tell what the emotion on his face was; confusion, bewilderment, or fear.

"I'm-" Blaine started in a whisper before seemingly flinching and twisting to look at the door. He jumped up from the table, startling Mia, and hurried across the room to shut the door. He leant against it for a few seconds taking deep breaths before turning back into the room, looking incredibly unsure of himself and on the verge of tears.

"Blaine," Mia rose and walked over to her brother, pulling him into a hug where he stood. "Blaine, is this about the guy you met?" Blaine stayed still in her arms before nodding weakly against her shoulder. "Oh darling," Mia soothed, "there is _nothing_ wrong with you liking a guy," she assured him, one hand stroking his hair softly while the other held him close. At hearing her words, Blaine could no longer keep the tears at bay and a few of them escaped down his cheeks, wetting the shoulder of Mia's shirt.

* * *

"Is there any chance we can change the subject?" Kurt groaned into the table, his head resting in his folded arms. His coffee cup lay cold and empty next to his arms: the girls had been discussing Kurt's crush on Blaine Anderson for a solid ten minutes before moving onto his love life in general, even debating how long they reckoned it'd had been since Kurt had last 'gotten any'. They were all on their third cups of coffee, but Kurt had forgone having another after his second.

"Sorry boo," Mercedes giggled, leaning across the table to place a hand on Kurt's arm comfortingly, "It's not fair of us to pry into your love life like that," Kurt raised his head and smiled gratefully at her, unfolding his arms to take hold of her hand and give it a thankful squeeze. "I think we should pry into Rachel's instead," she laughed and turned to stare at Rachel, who spluttered on her coffee.

"What?" she glanced around the table as her cheeks began to colour, "Why me?" Kurt, Mercedes and Scarlett all giggled at her scandalized expression.

"Because we barely know anything about yours," Kurt reminded her with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

"Mercedes hasn't said anything about hers!" Rachel exclaimed, gesturing towards the singer who was sat next to her.

"Rachel, you _know_ I have a boyfriend," Mercedes told her, "You've met him!" Rachel blushed an even deeper red, knowing that now she would have to divulge the details. "C'mon," Mercedes encouraged with a gentle nudge of her shoulder against Rachel's, "Spill, Berry." Rachel rolled her eyes with a sigh and took another sip of her coffee before putting the mug down on the table.

"Well, I haven't really been involved with anyone for a while," she revealed in a melancholy tone, "I broke up with my last boyfriend a while ago; Brody," Kurt nodded sympathetically; he'd read about Rachel's relationship with Brody Weston a few years ago. The relationship hadn't lasted long, but it had been rumoured that Rachel had been utterly enraptured with the Broadway actor. The relationship ended after five months, and Rachel had yet to be seen with another man on her arm. "I guess I'm just too busy now to find someone else," she sighed, "But I know I'll meet someone someday," she added with a small smile.

"Of course you will," Scarlett patted her arm with a comforting smile, "The right guy is just out there, waiting to sweep you off your feet."

"I wish he'd hurry up," Rachel remarked as she lifted her mug to her lips, giggling with the others when they did.

"What about you, Scarlett?" Kurt turned to his manager; they may have been working together for a few years now, and while Kurt occasionally teased her about Thad Harwood's advances, Kurt really didn't know much about Scarlett's life in terms of romantic attachments. He suddenly realised that she could have been through several relationships and break ups and he would've been none the wiser, and the thought made him feel incredibly guilty.

"Well," Scarlett started with a heavy sigh, bracing herself for the story she hadn't told in a long time, "I had just gotten my first big client and I was happily with my then-boyfriend, Jesse St. James. Jesse was a photographer for Vogue, and we met at the photo shoot for said client for the magazine. We'd been together for nearly a year, and friends of mine were starting to tease that an engagement ring was on the cards for me. However," the smiles that had been gracing Kurt's, Rachel's and Mercedes' faces fell slightly at the change in tone, "just a month before our one year anniversary, Jesse was caught out with a young, blonde model on a night out and both of them were followed back to a hotel," Kurt could feel his insides sink and go cold. _If I ever meet this Jesse St. Jerk,_ Kurt thought to himself, _I'll bitch-slap him into the next century for hurting Scarlett_,"I confronted him and found out that Jesse had in fact been cheating with a string of models for several months, and I ended the relationship almost instantly. I haven't been with anyone since, and to be honest I'm not really rushing into another relationship quite yet," Scarlett shrugged with a small smile, glancing around the table. Kurt leant across and pulled her into a hug, making her laugh a little as she held back a few tears as Rachel and Mercedes tried to surreptitiously wipe away their own.

"Why didn't you tell me any of this?" Kurt asked into her shoulder as he held her. Scarlett shrugged as best as she could when she had his arms around her.

"It was long over by the time you and I met," she offered as explanation, "And I didn't want to bore you with my sob stories." Kurt sat back and held her at arm's length, a gobsmacked expression on his face.

"Scarlett, this is _not_ a sob story," he told her honestly, "And I know we're meant to have a professional relationship, but I consider you my friend and I care about you," he pulled her into a hug again, Scarlett smiling into his shoulder as she returned it. Kurt suddenly pulled back with a glint of curiosity in his blue eyes. "Is this why you won't admit you like that Thad Harwood?" Scarlett stared back at him, confused, but her cheeks blushed lightly and Kurt knew he was right. "You _do_ like him don't you?"

"Who's Thad?" Mercedes asked across the table, her and Rachel's heads tilted to one side in intrigue.

"Blaine Anderson's manager," Scarlett told them, "He flirts with me every time we meet and doesn't hesitate to ask me out at least once a week," she rolled her eyes, feigning annoyance, "And Kurt is convinced that I requite his feelings." She turned to the author and raised a questioning eyebrow, as if to add '_but I have no idea why he would think that_', but Kurt just grinned back at her.

* * *

"Tell me about him?" Mia enquired, seeing that her brother's tears had slowed down to only a few a minute and his breathing was far less erratic than it had been five minutes ago. They were sat back at the table, this time with Mia at the head of the table and Blaine in the chair to her left. Blaine looked up at her but said nothing, simply frowning back at her. "The guy you met?" she encouraged, "Would you tell me about him?"

"Why?" Blaine's voice was thick and rough from crying, but his defensive tone was clear nonetheless.

"Because I'd like to know about him," Mia stated, "Am I not allowed to be curious?" Blaine held her gaze as he calculated the pros and cons of telling Mia all about the author who had taken a pen to his life story and added a major plot twist before turning away.

"No," he said simply, "I don't- I don't think I want to talk about it anymore tonight." Mia shrugged and sat back in her chair, saying an 'okay' and letting the room fall to silence. Blaine stared at the surface of the table deep in thought, wondering if maybe it would be a good idea to tell Mia everything. Maybe that way she could help him to figure out if what he was feeling was everything he feared it was, or if it was, in fact, real. What would be the harm in telling her, when he thought of it that way? It wasn't scary; she could just help to clarify how he was feeling. And she was his _sister_, the girl who had always looked out for him in his hour of need and then some; if he couldn't tell her what he was going through, who could he tell? "Alright then," he sighed, running a hand through his curls as he turned back to Mia who had perked up when he spoke, "What do you want to know about him?" Mia grinned at his change of heart and leant forward on the table.

"Well, first of all, where did you meet him?" Blaine snorted at her question, staring at her incredulously afterwards with a smirk.

"Seriously?" he grinned, "_That's_ you first question? Not 'what does he look like', but 'where did I meet him'?" Mia giggled and shrugged her shoulders, just happy to see Blaine smiling again. Blaine shook his head softly before continuing. "Okay, well, we met at Puck's party last week," Blaine felt a small smile creeping onto his lips as he remembered seeing Kurt strolling the lawns and going over to talk to him, and the utter breathlessness he had felt when the brunet had turned around. But when he remembered how he had reacted to Kurt not knowing who he was, he cringed and refrained from groaning as his head sunk into his hand. "But I was a complete ass to him. I did manage to patch things up a bit at the end of the party, but I wouldn't be surprised if he still thinks I'm an ass," Mia patted her brother's knee affectionately, returning the smile he offered her when she did so. "And then in the meeting we had he seemed okay… I mean, he's sassy as hell from what I can tell from the brief conversation we had before Thad and…" Blaine frowned as he tried to recall the name of Kurt's manager, but when he couldn't think of anything he simply settled for "_his_ manager took over-"

"Wait," Mia cut him off, "Meeting?"

"Oh yeah," Blaine pulled a face, "That leads onto why this isn't exactly simple…" Blaine tailed off, so Mia stared at him until he continued. "Remember I told you about that film I'm going to cameo in?" Mia nodded; it had been one of the things Blaine had considered to be part of the 'not much' that had been going on in his life since he had last spoken to her, "Well, he wrote the book it's based on," Mia's eyes widened, and Blaine nodded in return as if to say '_yeah, I know; crazy, right?_'

"Wow," was all Mia could say, trying to absorb all of this new information.

"Yeah," Blaine sighed, looking back to the table's surface again, "Which means that, if he's on set while I'm filming, I could possibly be spending a whole two weeks with him,"

"And that's a bad thing?" Mia asked, trying to understand her brother's thinking.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if you're spending two weeks with this guy, you may be able to figure out if everything you're feeling is real or if it was just a bit of a one-off," Mia explained calmly.

"But what if it isn't a one-off?" Blaine asked, suddenly looking rather vulnerable, "I've never felt this way about anyone before, Mia. This guy... I've only met him three times and already he's having this effect on me,"

"Three times?" Mia tilted her head gently, reminding Blaine slightly of a confused puppy and he realised the trait must be a family thing.

"Yeah, I kind of... Saw him... Today," he bit his lip and averted his eyes from his sister's gaze.

"Today? When?"

"When I found Louise with him," Blaine explained with a heavy sigh; this whole conversation was really tiring him out, "And I've been thinking about him ever since."

"So…" Mia began, but trailed off and went silent. Whatever it was she had been intending to say she had obviously reconsidered, but it had piqued Blaine's curiosity and he wasn't about to let it slip; he wanted to make sure Mia understood how he was feeling so that she could maybe help him understand himself.

"What?" Mia looked at him and her cheeks coloured slightly, and she bit her lip before deciding to just ask anyway.

"What about all the women you've dated?" she asked quietly, hoping the question wouldn't set her brother off again. Blaine considered the question for a few seconds, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. He couldn't deny that he'd been with a few girls over the years, more than a few in fact, and it was one of the main reasons why he was so confused: he'd always believed that he was attracted to women, that he found them sexy and attractive, but now that he reflected on his feelings he realised that he'd never been _romantically_ attracted to a woman, and never particularly while he was sober. Sure, he'd had relationships with girls that had lasted up to several months, but the relationships had always started on a night out or at a party, normally after a significant amount of alcohol had been consumed. And as far as the relationships were concerned, they only really lasted as long as they did because Blaine appreciated the company, someone closer than a friend who you could just be with and have fun with, someone who wanted to be with you for who you were, every second of the day. The girls he had dated had been incredibly dedicated, whether it was to keep their faces in the public eye or to genuinely be with him he wasn't sure, but they'd always come to him when he called. He always went to them as well, but for him it felt more like going to visit a friend who he was just a little more cosy with, possibly spending the night. However much he tried to deny it, Blaine realised that he had essentially strung these women along under the illusion that they were in a loving relationship when all he'd really needed them for was a bit of a cuddle and some sexual release every now and again. He'd never really loved them, and the guilt that hit him at that moment was overwhelming.

"I never loved any of them," Blaine finally said, vocalising all of the thoughts that had just run through his head to his sister, "They were more like… friends who I slept with,"

"What about guys?" Mia asked with her voice still gentle, "Have you ever liked a guy before?" Blaine shook his head almost instantly.

"No; never liked a guy before. I've never looked at a guy that way," he replied honestly, "Until now, that is."

"So what makes this guy any different?"

The question stumped Blaine completely; what _did_ make Kurt any different? What about Kurt had made Blaine completely question who he was? Was it that Blaine had felt a little more comfortable around this guy because he had no idea who he was; that there was no expectation over how Blaine was going to behave and that Blaine could just relax around him? A little. Or was it that bit of attitude he'd seen when Kurt had walked away from him that made him want to spend more time with this guy, playfully pushing to see how much he could get away with? There was something about Kurt that had intrigued him that night, and at the meeting he'd been yearning for Kurt to make some sort of conversation with him which meant he'd been disappointed when Kurt had stayed absorbed in his phone. However, the odd smile the author had flashed at him had given him shivers of the delicious variety. Or was it that Kurt had been the first person – man or woman – to completely take his breath away by appearance alone? Those blue eyes that had twinkled in the evening light, and the gentle blush that had graced his pale, flawless skin when Blaine had told him that yes, he had looked a little lonely walking the lawns by himself. And when he'd started to get defensive, Blaine had been able to detect a hint of toned shoulders underneath the material of his shirt as he'd tensed up slightly, and he had to admit that he'd had a little trouble keeping his eyes away.

The kitchen door suddenly opened and a bleary-eyed Thad appeared in the doorway, a hand covering his mouth as he yawned sleepily. Blaine tensed up slightly, cautious of if Thad had overheard anything, but relaxed again slightly when Mia put her hand over his with a gentle smile. "How long have I been asleep?" Thad asked drowsily, stumbling slightly as he took a few steps into the kitchen.

"Maybe an hour or two?" Mia suggested when she glanced up at the clock: it had been about an hour and a half since she had sent Louise up to bed, and it was only now that she realised everything had gone quiet upstairs.

"What were you two talking about?" Blaine turned to his sister and shook his head gently, thankful that Thad wasn't looking as he tried to silently tell his sister not to reveal anything they'd spoken about. Mia just smiled at him.

"Oh, nothing much," she told Thad, keeping her eyes on Blaine and seeing the relief wash over his face, "Just… sibling stuff." Blaine mouthed a 'thank you' to his sister and she just smiled and nodded in reply.

"Oh right," Thad replied unenthusiastically, "Well, I'm going to head home; the contract is all sorted now so there shouldn't be any emergencies, but I'll call you if anything comes up," he waved half-heartedly as he fished for his car keys in his pants pocket. Blaine returned the wave and told him he'd see Thad in a few days if nothing came up before then. Thad bid both Andersons goodnight and left, leaving them alone in the kitchen once more.

"Bedtime?" Mia asked as she stood from the table. Blaine glanced at the clock and nodded; it was gone eleven and after the panic they'd been through this morning and the emotional conversation he'd had with Mia this evening, he was pretty damn tired. They walked together upstairs, Mia with her arm around Blaine's shoulder and he leant into her sleepily in response. He was incredibly thankful that his sister had come back into his life, even if it hadn't been in the best of circumstances, and when they got to the top of the stairs he pulled her into a hug before they went different ways to their bedrooms, Mia having chosen the room nearest her children.

"Thank you," he mumbled into her shoulder, "For everything." She squeezed him tightly for a few seconds, the way she had always done when Blaine had been upset about something.

"Don't mention it," she murmured into his curls, "I'm always here for you, B,"

They pulled apart and Blaine smiled up at her, hesitating for a few seconds before turning away to his bedroom. Mia waited until his door shut, allowing her to witness his last glance back at her, before turning to her own bedroom. She checked on Louise and Jonah, smiling when she saw them tucked up in the same bed, cuddling each other and sleeping soundly. She kissed them both goodnight on their foreheads, careful not to wake them, before going into her own bedroom. Harvey stirred at her entrance, but she managed to soothe him before he started crying. As she sat on her bed and rocked her son, she thought back over everything Blaine had told her that night and was relieved when she still felt as calm as she had when he'd originally told her. Of course it hadn't been what she'd expected, but there was no panic or concern, just an adoration for her brother that he was able to be honest with her.

And she had laid Harvey back down and was crawling into bed herself, she realised that, even though she hadn't thought it was possible, she loved Blaine all the more for it.

* * *

**So that's all I've got for now. I have plans for the next few chapters, it'll just be finding the time to write them. **

**Oh, and Lu? I love you. I don't say it enough so I'm saying it now. Loooovvveeee yyooouuuuuu :D Xxxx**

**Until next time, folks,**

**Amy Xxxx **


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